Evanescent Regret
by elderwolves
Summary: Nowaki cheats on Hiroki, and Hiroki leaves him to go back to his ancestral home in the mountains. Nowaki chases him, but Hiroki's family won't let him anywhere near. What can he do? How far will he go to get his bloved Hiro-san back? But there is more to the Kamijou's than meets the eye. Bonus side story included at the end! :D Nowaki/Hiroki 'cause you know you want it
1. Nowaki Cheats, a Sisters Love

**Evanescent Regret**

By Elderwolves

Disclaimer: I, Elderwolves, do not claim in any way, shape, or form to own any of the characters (in part or in whole) of "Junjou Romantica" that I did not think up. If I did, I would be making tons of cash and very happy with the way I do it, Nowaki and Hiroki would be the main stars (nothing against you Misaki, Usagi-san, Miyagi, and Shinobu).

a/n: First of all, if I get the guts do add a little spice to this, the rating might change. You've read the summary, so that's that. Yes, there will be POV changes, and no I'm not going to write when they will be, you have eyes and can see for yourself. There will be supporter stories later on, but for now just focus on this plot. If you don't understand something, pm me and I will write you back and act accordingly. For now, enjoy.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Chapter 1<span>**_

Hiroki was coming home after a long day at the university, and longed for nothing more than to see his infrequent lover. He was tired, aggravated, and disgruntled. Almost all of Hiroki's class had chosen today to forget to do their homework, pass notes, and text during his lessons. This resulted in most of them getting books thrown at them or sent out. Only the knowledge that it was the last class before summer break began saved his sanity for the rest of the day. Professor Miyagi was being even more annoyi- (whoops) hyper than was the norm and was swarming around Hiroki with all the ferocity of a bee on steroids. Not to mention his brat came by while he was doing this and started yelling at the both of them and giving Miyagi a long lecture on faithfulness. Once he saw that Shinobu was no longer paying any attention to him, he crept over to his computer to finish his work so he could leave.

Regardless of the fact that this is a daily occurrence, today it just seemed to wear him down. All he wanted to do was snuggle with Nowaki on the couch and complain about his day so he could make it better; not like he would ever admit to it, of course. And if the young doctor even _tried_ to suggest such a thing, he would be mercilessly pummeled with books, pillows, chopsticks, or anything that happened to be handy at the time. He did have his pride after all.

"Hey, HEY! Hiroki, wait up!" He turned to see a woman running up the apartment complex's stairway toward him. She had the exact same face as him, but with longer hair tied into a high ponytail so that the end of her hair barely reached her shoulders. "Oh hello, Hikari." He hugged her. "It's been such a long time, twin. Why don't you come in have some tea? We can discuss the reason for your visit later." She gave a gentle smile then gestured ahead.

As they approached the door to their joint apartment he could hear a strange thump from behind the door, followed by a thump from what sounded like the entranceway wall. Confusedly, Hiroki took out his key and opened the door… only to drop his bag at the scene he found.

Nowaki, _his_ Nowaki, was pinning someone with blonde hair to the wall with his lips plastered to theirs. They jumped away from each other as soon as they realized the door was open. Nowaki's eyes widened at being caught and wondered why there were two Hiroki's standing in the doorway. Hiroki's eyes narrowed when he realized the blonde was actually Tsumori. He looked to both, and pointed at Tsumori. "You… get out." The blonde looked between them then slowly walked outside and closed the door behind him. 'No use letting the neighbors hear.' He thought as he left, 'I wonder what's going to happen.'

Hikari was watching this all with a look of disbelief and worry on her face. She knew about Hiroki and Nowaki, but she also knew that what they had just witnessed was very upsetting for him. She could sense the feelings of sadness, anger, hurt, and betrayal rolling off of Hiroki in waves. That was their advantage as twins; they could read each other's thoughts and emotions as easily as if they were their own. She knew the moment he fell in love with that Akihiko boy, and then when he fell in love with Nowaki. Now all she felt from him was pain… and it angered her to the point of becoming bloodthirsty.

"Hiro-san, it's not what it looks like, "Began Nowaki. "Don't." Hiroki was looking down. "Just listen... That first time, when I found you both on the floor, I accepted your explanation. I took it at face value, because I trusted you. You had a good explanation, and followed it up by offering to share this apartment with me, because you wanted to further our relationship. I was pacified and happy, like you wanted." He started to shake. "But tell me, what possible excuse can you have for holding that man and kissing him? What possible reason can you have for this?" Nowaki was taken aback, he said this all softly around an audible lump in his throat. He should have yelled at him, called him an idiot, thrown something at him, all of that Nowaki could take; but the sad and defeated tone in his voice was breaking his heart. All he wanted to do was hold him close and tell him it would all be alright. He lowered his head to get a look at Hiroki's face and was shocked to find tears. "H…Hiro-san…" Nowaki tried to reach for him but was stunned when the Hiroki-look-alike grabbed his arm and flung it away from them.

Nowaki glared, "Who are you, and why are you stopping me from comforting my Hiro-san?" He demanded. She straightened herself, "I am Hiroki's only sibling and twin sister. I, my good sir, am Kamijou Hikari. As for your question…" She narrowed her eyes into a murderous glare, "you have lost any and all rights to touch my brother or call him yours. Try to do so again and I will not hesitate to tear off that hand and feed it to you with great pleasure, but as a doctor I figure you would prefer to keep your hands." Hikari turned to Hiroki, with sad eyes. "Twin, I know that you're hurting right now and need some time to let this all sink in. I came here today to see if you would come to stay with Grandfather, Matsuda, and I back at the Village. We figured that with it being the start of summer break you would be overly stressed and might like to come home to rest and relax." She turned to glare once more at Nowaki, "As it would seem, I couldn't have come at a better time." Hikari leveled understanding eyes with Hiroki's. "Why don't you go and pack your things? I'll stand watch out here and help you get them to the station."

Nowaki was in a state of shock but came to his senses at that last part. He glared at her. "Hiro-san doesn't need to pack anything! He is staying here!" Hiroki said nothing, but went and did as Hikari requested. When Nowaki tried to follow, she blocked his way. He was trying to find a way around her without hurting her when Hiroki came back out… with all of his things packed into the suitcases he usually used for business trips. He was closing his phone. "I called both Professor Miyagi and Akihiko and asked them to come by later and sort through the books and deliver mine to my storage unit a few miles away as a favor. Those idiots owe me that much after that incident at the school's festival their brats caused." He said with a tired voice. "I put my stamp on the inside of each so there shouldn't be a problem." Nowaki's mouth dropped. "Hiro-san! You're really going to leave?" Now Hiroki looked him dead in the eyes, "I can't stay here. Not after that. I was always suspicious of that guy, but did nothing because you told me there was nothing between you. In the end, we all know who the real fool was, don't we? But…" he gave Hikari a sad smile. "I've still got my pride, and you have your career. I'm leaving; I won't get in your way anymore. You're probably better off with him anyway." That was all Hiroki said as a lone tear slid down his pale cheek. He walked past Nowaki with his bags and out the door. Nowaki tried to follow but was surprisingly knocked to the ground by the fragile looking woman in front of him. As he struggled to rise, she closed the door behind herself and her brother. Hiroki was already walking down the stairs.

She placed her hand on the lock of the door, and a pale violet light shone out of it. The door, no matter whether it was locked or not, would not open from either side until an hour has passed; and by then, they would be long gone. The knob began to franticly turn and pounding could be heard as Nowaki struggled to open the door. "Hiro-san!" He called out repeatedly. She leaned in close to the keyhole, "You are disgraceful, cheating on Hiroki then expecting him to stay! You have no one to blame but yourself. YOU DON'T DESERVE HIM!" She yelled the last part, and then followed her twin brother down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Nowaki stopped his struggles for a moment to rest; the door just wouldn't open. All the while he knew his precious lover was getting farther and farther away from him with each passing moment. He jumped at this thought and began forcefully beating the door in a futile attempt to escape. Why… why didn't he reject Tsumori-sempi when he had the chance? Nowaki didn't even have any romantic feelings towards his sempi. So why had he accepted in the first place? He couldn't even remember. "HIRO-SAN!" It took him so long to find him, the love of his life. So why did he risk losing him like this? Now it wasn't even a risk, but a reality. The very thought of being left behind by the brunette was enough to make his heart stop for a moment. When he had first met him, he had been crying because Usami-sensei had rejected him. Right then, Nowaki had fallen for him entirely, determined to make him his. Then after Hiro-san tried to leave him, he had done everything in his power to get him back. When Nowaki had found the Professor trying to kiss his Hiro-san, it had him seeing red and craving violence in the worst possible way. Even now, if either Usami-san or Professor Miyagi is brought up, he would have terrible fits of jealousy.<p>

He knew that Hiro-san would never cheat on him, and loved him all the more for it. Not that it made worried him any less. How hypocritical that with all that resentment, it would be him that cheated on his lover. Nowaki had never meant for all this to happen, but it had and spiraled out of control before he could stop it. He had to get out of there; he had to find Hiro-san, had to apologize for cheating, and had to beg him for a second chance. With this thought in mind, he threw all of his bulk into the door one last time when the door finally opened. It had taken him about an hour to get out, but now he couldn't see them anywhere.

Nowaki began to panic, but calmed himself enough to think straight. He replayed the scene in his head when he finally had an idea._ "We figured that with it being the start of summer break you would be overly stressed and might like to come home to recharge."_ That's what she said, so that must be where they went. They must have gone to Hiro-san's parent's house. Nowaki ran back inside the house and grabbed some money and his coat. _'"Why don't you go and pack your things? I'll stand watch out here and help you get them to the station." _'They must have taken the subway,' He thought as he ran back out. 'I can talk to him, get him to come home.' He hailed a taxi and gave the name of the subway station to the driver. "Hiro-san, I'm coming for you." He murmured.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to Nowaki, Hiroki and Hikari were currently riding the train south while he rode the subway north. Even by train it was going to be a long ride, so they were resting in their compartment for the whole trip. Hikari was holding a weeping Hiroki as he cried his sorrows away. "Shhhh… its okay, let it out." She soothed. Hikari had never in her life seen him so… broken. Even after that incident with that Akihiko guy he hadn't been THIS upset. But then, Hiroki hadn't <em>really<em> believed that little scheme of his would work in the first place. He hoped, sure, but he knew the odds of it working when he tried it. But it was far worse this time; he has been betrayed by the one person he trusted and loved with all of his heart, someone who he thought loved him equally and would never hurt him, but did just that. Now the pain was taking its toll on him.

'By now the spell would have worn off.' Hikari thought. She looked down at her brother's head in her lap to find he had cried himself to sleep. He was tossing and turning, whimpering pitifully. "No….waki…" He said through more tears. 'Doesn't matter now, he won't ever see Hiroki again if I have my way.' She leaned over him and placed her hand on his temple. Hikari closed her eyes and focused, and then felt all of Hiroki's sadness, pain, and heartbreak hit her mind like a ton of bricks. Tears began slowly welling in her eyes as Hiroki finally laid still and slept peacefully. Another blessing of having twin telepathy was that whenever one was in unbearable agony, the other could shoulder half the pain or, in this case, all of it. In this way, twins could look after each other. This way, they would never, ever be alone in life. But the cost of this was that the moment one of them died so to would the other in twenty-four hours. But that was a price Hikari would gladly pay to be able to take away Hiroki's pain, even for a short while.

She shifted a little to grab her phone from her pocket. After a few rings, a man picked up the call. "Hello?" Matsuda's soft voice drifted to her. Hikari smiled to herself, the sound of her husband's caring voice could always lift her spirits. "Hello dear, it's Hikari. I've got Hiroki and we're coming back home." She said. "Hikari, is there something wrong? You sound like you've been crying." It sounded like he was about to panic. "I'm alright, but something bad happened to Hiroki after I found him." She explained everything that had occurred. Matsuda listened to all of this in silence, already knowing about Hiroki being gay, but respecting him too much to care. After all, the three of them had known each other since they were small. In the end Hikari finished her story with a shake of her head, "And that's why we need to make him feel at home when he gets there. Just like old times. He's been extremely hurt emotionally, but he's not fragile. He has too much pride to accept being treated like that, and we both know he's anything in the world except for weak." "Understood. At least he'll be able to heal here. The mountain takes care of its people, if no one else. I'll go ahead and inform Grandfather of this; and if that guy even TRIES to get up here, we'll know." He said, practically spitting venom at the last part. Matsuda was now _very_ pissed after hearing everything. "We'll be waiting for you when you get off the bus. Bye." Hikari smiled, "Bye, I miss you already." Matsuda chuckled, "Miss you too." Then the line clicked dead. Hikari looked down at her sleeping twins face and thought about what the little surprise waiting for him when they got to Bluestar Mountain. A small smile spread across her face.

* * *

><p>Nowaki was walking, practically running, down the street. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were wild. People who saw him coming cleared the way immediately; he looked like he just saw hell and it was coming to get him. He eventually reached his destination by asking a few, very concerned looking, neighborhood residents. He finally stood gazing at the decent sized, orderly looking dwelling with 'Kamijou House' printed neatly in formal kanji on the side of the fencepost. In his anxious state, he slammed open the gateway and flew to the front door. Just as he was about to knock, the door was opened from the inside and an agitated, middle aged woman emerged. She looked up at him with unconcealed annoyance, though she spoke politely. "May I help you?" Nowaki looked at her slightly faded auburn hair, chocolate eyes, and stern countenance and assumed her to be Hiro-san's mother. But he needed to be sure. "Um… excuse me for asking but are you Ayaka-san?" She narrowed her eyes, "Who are you to be asking and why would you want to know?" He was slightly amused; she was acting much like Hiro-san would. "I'm asking because I am looking for Hiroki; I am his roommate (he balked at the word), Kusama Nowaki." She finally reacted when he said her son's name, now with a twinge of worry under her irritation. If possible her glare narrowed further, "Please come with me." She turned and headed back inside the house. Nowaki hurriedly followed, not daring to lose sight of her in case he got lost in the big house. She led him into a large sitting room and told him to stay.<p>

A few minutes passed until she returned, bringing with her a tall man with warm brown hair and eyes to match. They both sat down across from Nowaki, the man seemed to think for a while before speaking. "Hello, my name is Kamijou Sora, Hiroki's father. Young man, what is this I hear about you looking for Hiroki? If you truly are his roommate than wouldn't you know best?" Nowaki began to fidget in his seat, "It…. It's a little bit embarrassing, um…" Sora could see his hesitation and took pity on him. "Ayaka dear, if you wouldn't mind, could you please fetch us all some drinks? I'm feeling very parched and this young man may need to wet his whistle as his throat seems to be very dry." She nodded then, with a wary glance back, left the two men to their own devices. Sora then looked back to Nowaki with a serious expression. "Listen, you can tell me anything, especially when it concerns my children. I can guarantee that there is nothing you can say about them that I didn't already know." Nowaki was very doubtful of that, "Anything?" Sora sighed, "I will not tell their secrets, but let's do this… I know how he used to feel about that boy he used the hang around. What was his name again… oh yes, Akihiko! That's how well I know them." He smiled to himself. Nowaki was gobsmacked, "You know he's…?" He asked. "Well, yes. I could see the signs, and I knew before he did!" He laughed. But then his laughter died. "So why have you really come here?" Nowaki explained everything that had happened and his true relationship with his Hiro-san. When he had finished he looked up to find both anger and calculation in his eyes.

"Do you regret what you did to him?" Sora asked coldly, looking at him for any signs of lying. Nowaki nodded. He sighed, "Good thing I believe you, otherwise I would have to seriously hurt you." He chuckled. "Well…," said Sora as he leaned back. "He isn't here, but that doesn't surprise me. I may know about his preference, but Ayaka doesn't. And may the spirits help us when she finds out!" He shuddered. "He's hurting, thanks to you. He wouldn't be able to heal here because he would have to hide it from her. Additionally, if Hikari took him somewhere this would be the _last_ place she'd take him." He said. Sadness was evident in his tone. Nowaki became curious. "Why wouldn't she come here? Isn't this her home as well?" "No, it isn't. The Kamijou's are actually mountain people, I met Hiroki's mother, Ayaka, while on an expedition on Bluestar Mountain, which is hundreds of miles from here. We got married there and had both Hiroki and Hikari. The locals there don't take kindly to outsiders and only let them marry their own if they abide by two conditions: the outsider must take the Kamijou name and must abide by all of their traditions. This way, they are no longer outsiders, but a true Kamijou. This was even more important in our case, due to the fact that she is the Village Head's daughter. But even if we leave, we are still locals of the mountain, the same being said for Hiroki, who stayed there for the better part of his childhood.

"One of the traditions they have is that the children all stay in the nursery until they reach ten years of age. During that time, they will complete training to become properly installed as a productive citizen to their village." He looked extremely nostalgic as he explained this. One could easily tell that he enjoyed his stay there. As suddenly as it had happened, it went away. He looked tired and sad again. "But when they were both nine years old, something bad happened to them. Ayaka and I had moved to this house beforehand, and left them in the village to complete the tradition. So we didn't learn until later and the villagers refused to tell us what had happed to them. We waited a year to see if they would recover, but they both seemed to be depressed. Hiroki had the worst of it. They were almost never apart after that, so we decided it would be best to separate them. So one day, we went back to the village to take Hiroki back with us. Hikari was going to stay with Ayaka's father." He sighed and sat forward. "Big mistake…"

"The day we took him home with us was horrible. The moment we pulled Hiroki's hand out of hers, they both started struggling. Ayaka had to hold Hikari down while I dragged Hiroki away, who was screaming and crying by then. I'd never seen them react like that. It was almost as if they were terrified of losing sight of the other. When we got back, Hiroki locked himself in his room and refused to come out. He ignored any food we left for him, and we could hear him cry at night. Sometimes at night we would wake up to hear him screaming. We would run to his room to see him thrashing around on his bed, struggling as if he were fighting for his life. After nights like that, he wouldn't come out at all that day. Whatever happened to them…," he glared at Nowaki, "Didn't leave them unscarred. To this day, I regret taking them away from each other. As it would turn out, they were comforting each other in their own way. I don't think they ever forgave us for that. Hiroki eventually got better after a while after we buried him in lessons, books, and after school activities. We thought he was going to burst with all the stuff we made him study; but he needed to keep his mind off the past and build his social skills, he was always staying away from people because he was taught to avoid outsiders. He finally moved on from whatever had happened, more so after he met Usami Akihiko."

Sora leaned back again, "So if you heard them say that their going home, then they probably went back to the mountains. They always felt more comfortable there." Nowaki was shocked to say the least. What could have happened to make a proud man like Hiro-san break down like that? Whatever it was must have been terrible. He looked to Sora and saw him push something across the table toward him. He picked it up to find it was a map of Japan with Bluestar Mountain highlighted in red. He stood and bowed to the older man. "Thank you, very much! I must be going now," Nowaki turned to leave. "Kusama, you had best mind yourself. I may not have been born with them, but I damn well know how to use a sword like the rest of them. Remember that the next time you try to hurt him again, idiot." Nowaki bowed again, smiling at the familiar remark. "I will; thank you." As he left the room, he almost ran into Ayaka. "Leaving already?" He bowed to her. "Yes, I'm sorry. But there is something important that I need to do, please excuse me." And Nowaki ran out of the house and back down the street.

* * *

><p>Ayaka watched him go then returned to the room with her husband still in it. "Honey…," She said with a sadistic smile on her face. "Would you like to tell me something?"He turned extremely pale at her sweet tone. She placed the tea on the table and sat across from him. Sora thought he was going to faint from blood loss in his head when she pulled out her katana from somewhere in her kimono and began to polish it. "Well? ~" The sadistic smile never left her face.<p>

* * *

><p>Hikari was looking out her window when she saw their stop approaching. She leaned over the still sleeping figure in her lap, "Hiroki, Hiroki wake up!" She said. When he didn't move, she smirked to herself. "Well, I tried." Hikari said with a shrug, promptly shoving him off her lap. He hit the ground with an echoing <em>thud,<em> and jackknifed into a sitting position. "HEY! What the hell was that for?" She hopped up and grabbed their bags, "Here's our stop! Come on, get up." He stood and took some of the bags from her. "You couldn't find a _nicer_ way to wake me up? I mean, seriously!" They got off the train and started walking toward the bus station. Hiroki's face slowly began to fall as he began remembering why he was there. Hikari noticed this and thought about ways to cheer him up even after they boarded the bus. Then she thought of something.

"Hey Hiroki," she began, "You realize that you're going to be staying in the main house with us, right?" He looked confused. "Yeah, that's how it usually is. Why?" Hikari looked back her window. "Oh, no reason. Just thought you'd like to know that there will actually be one more person staying with us, someone you didn't get to meet last time you visited five years ago…" Hiroki was now _extremely_ confused. Last time he visited it was a special occasion, Hikari was feeling sick and throwing up for a while and needed taking care of, but there weren't any new arrivals at the village… new arrivals… 'NO WAY!' He stared at her. "Hikari, are you telling me…" She stood up again. "We're here!" Turning, she grabbed more bags and hurried off the bus. Hiroki was pissed at not getting his answer, so grabbed the remaining bags and ran after her. "KAMIJOU HIKARI, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE AND ANSWER ME!" He found her stopped at the archway marking the beginning of the trail leading to the village. Just inside it was parked a jeep containing the smiling face of Matsuda. He walked up to him and patted his back. "Hey, Brother! Good to see you, an old face is always welcome." Matsuda said.

Suddenly Hiroki was knocked to the ground from behind. He turned and saw a little girl with charcoal black hair, not unlike Matsuda's, tied up in a ponytail and with the same hazel eyes he had, sitting on his back. She couldn't have been more than seven years old. The little girl looked up at Matsuda and said the strangest thing Hiroki had ever heard: "Daddy is this him? Is this Uncle Hiroki? He looks like Momma, but he's a boy!" She giggled. Hiroki watched as Matsuda nodded, he turned to Hikari and saw her trying to stifle her laughter and failing. She looked at him and nodded. He picked the little girl up and sat cross legged so she could sit in front of him. She beamed at him and looked him dead in the eye, "Hello, Uncle Hiroki, my name is Kamijou Yumi. I am five years old, and am very pleased to meet you." She said and bowed. So she was five, not seven. He was speechless, so he looked to his sister for guidance. She chuckled and pointed to the spot beside Yumi. There, on a cloth so as not to be dirtied, was a book. Or three, to be exact. He was screwed. He had a niece, he had a niece that loved to read books, he had a niece that loved to read books that he didn't want to ignore or throw a book at. And she. Was. ADORABLE! Oh, Nowaki would love this sweet, little-

'Oh… I guess not,' Thought Hiroki. Hikari felt all of the thoughts her brother was having about her daughter and was on the verge of falling to the ground in laughter until that last part. Then she remembered: Nowaki was a pediatrician. Damn. She shared a look with her husband. He called, "Yumi, wasn't there something we wanted to say to Uncle Hiroki?" She looked at her father, and ran back to him. Hikari stood beside Matsuda with Yumi between them. "Welcome home!" They all cheered. Hiroki didn't know why, but this little display helped ease the pain a little. He stood up from his place on the ground. "Well are we going back to the village or are we going to stand around here like a bunch of fools all night?" Hiroki said good-naturedly. The three adults laughed while Yumi looked on with a look of confusion.

They threw the bags in the back of the jeep with Yumi, and began the long drive up the side of the mountain. Yumi, still confused about earlier, leaned over to Hiroki. "Uncle Hiroki, Mommy said that you teach about Japanese books and stories. Is that really true?"She asked, wide-eyed. He chuckled, "Yes, it is. Why?" "Um… what is a fool?" She looked really shy. Hiroki was thinking of the best way to explain it to her when an idea struck him. He reached into one of his bags and pulled out an old, beaten Japanese dictionary. He turned to her, "Yumi, this is a dictionary. If you ever need to know what a word means, you look it up in here and it will tell you. I used this when I was little, so take good care of it. But don't be afraid to ask me anything, okay?" She nodded enthusiastically and fell into the backseat to study the old, but well used book with the same love and care in her eyes that he did. Hikari took one of the books out of his bag too and hit him over the head with it. "Hey, don't go teaching my daughter bad words! I don't care if you _are_ a teacher!" She yelled playfully, still hitting him over the head with his own book. "Stop, stop! I surrender!" Matsuda growled and wrapped one arm around the waist of his wife. "Hey, would you quit? I'm trying to drive!" Who was he kidding? Even Yumi heard the amusement in his voice. 'After all these years, it's good to have the old gang back together.' He thought. 'Even if it is for such depressing reasons.'

They were nearing the village when they saw the outline of the village's small garage where the few cars they drove were kept along with the old prison cart where they would put trespassers and lawbreakers until they could be delivered to the dungeon to await trial. Everyone got out and walked over to the neighboring stables. Cars were not allowed in the actual village, but almost everyone old enough had their own horse to ride, others were too young and just walked. As they approached, a black mustang and two identical brown mares ran towards them. The mustang went over to Matsuda, who immediately mounted. Yumi ran over to them, "Daddy, can I ride with you?" "It's '_may _I ride with you,'" Called Hiroki next to a giggling Hikari. She pouted but did as she was told. Matsuda hoisted her up and galloped away with her in front of him on old Black Hoof. The two mares were identical in every way except for the fact that one had a white patch of fur over its left eye; the other had one on its right. The one with the left patch was Hiroki's horse, Fury. The other was Hikari's horse named Spitfire. They both tied on their bags and began trotting toward the village.

They were talking about trivial matters, everyday life and the latest news in the village. After a while, Hiroki noticed that Hikari was taking great pains not to mention anything about his home life. Especially a certain navy haired doctor. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He sighed, "I understand you don't want to upset me, and I appreciate it, but _my god_! Even if you talk about Nowaki, I'm alright!" She looked doubtful. "Hiroki… _are_ you alright?" He sighed and sagged in his seat. "No, I'm not alright." He looked her dead in the eye with a smile. "But I will be, with time. Don't worry, I promise." She could feel his honesty and see it in his eyes, and smiled back. This would not break him, he would be fine. Nowaki had done a lot of damage, but Hiroki was stronger than that. No matter what, Hiroki would survive. She was sure of it. These were her thoughts as they went under the final gates of the Village, they were finally home.

* * *

><p>Hiroki was now standing in his and his sister's old room, still the same as when they left; it was just his now that Hikari's sharing a room with Matsuda next door. Even after all these years, he still felt at peace here. On his bed were a brown haori, gray hakamas, along with a dark brown obi; formal enough for the Village Head's grandson, casual enough to be worn daily. And sitting on top of these was his old katana. Hiroki looked at the foot of his bed and, sure enough, there was a pair of tabi socks and some light wooden sandals. He picked the katana up and pulled it out of its sheath to see it in the dying sunlight. It was still in good condition, and it fit in his hand even better now that he was a full grown man. It was the same sword that he had always used since he was a child, but wasn't the proper size for one. Everything he had been taught with it was what made him able to use it well then, and better than that now. All of the children were taught to fight like adults, even to the point of being able to beat the average warrior. This was especially true of those of the main house in the village. The sheath was a made of warm pinewood, the metal at its top had the soft indent of a hawk with a lightning bolt running through it. It was the symbol of the Storm Hawks, which was the old nickname his old teacher had given he and his sister during their training. Such fond memories still brought a smile to his face. Chuckling to himself, he picked up the clothing and went to the bathroom to change. He was to meet his grandfather soon.<p>

* * *

><p>"Hello, Grandfather. It has been quite some time, but I can see you are well," He said as he approached. Hiroki knelt down in front of him. "Hiroki! No need to be so formal with your own grandfather! Thank you, I'm feeling very well now that you mention it. But I hear that you could use a little distracting from your troubles as of late." His grandfather had been Village Head for many years, and a faithful warrior his entire life before hand. His actual name was Kamijou Kouta, but no one calls him that much anymore since his wife died except for his old friends that still remain. His old, kind face was smiling gently at him, very understanding of the situation. He was in the same position when Grandmother had died, and his children and grandchildren had done their damnedest to get his mind off it and help him out of his depression.<p>

"Thank you, Grandfather. I appreciate you sending Hikari my way, she was a great help when I found out about… what was going on." The Village Head was one of the few people who knew about him being gay. He didn't shun him or try to change him, and he was thankful for that, but that still didn't stop him from nearly having a heart attack when Hiroki told him.

His smile faded a little. "Hiroki, what are the chances that he would come looking for you?" He shrugged, "I don't know. Last time I tried to leave him he tracked me down and wouldn't leave me be until I went back to him. He had wanted to work things out then, but I don't know about now. Doesn't the fact that he was cheating on me mean that he's tired of me? But he did try to stop me from leaving our appartment… I guess all I can say is I don't really know." Grandfather nodded. "Do you have his picture on you?" "Um… ah, yes! Here it is." He took the picture out of his wallet and gave it to him. "Just in case he does try to come here, we will alert all of the patrols to keep a special lookout for him." At the look on his face, he amended, "Not to worry, he won't be put into the dungeon, if that's what you're thinking. He will be brought straight here for a hearing, depending on what happens, he can either be let out on his own or tossed out forcefully. How's that sound?" Hiroki was relieved, "Thank you." "Good, you're welcome. Now on to another matter, why don't you go bathe by the waterfall and wash up before dinner? Everyone is eagerly waiting to see you since you've returned." Hiroki smiled and turned to go. "Oh and one more thing! Welcome home, little one." He bowed and left. "Thank you… for everything."

* * *

><p>He spent the rest of the night eating, training, and speaking to old friends. Before he knew it, he was in his bed thinking about the day's events. 'Maybe I'll get better faster than I thought. Tomorrow is a new day and I've cried enough, it's time to get on with my life. But I can't help but wonder what Nowaki's doing now.' Where his last thoughts as his eyes drifted closed and he became lost to the world of dreams.<p>

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Nowaki was currently sitting in his compartment on the train thinking about Hiro-san and what he would say and do to bring him home. Suddenly his phone began to ring, and he leapt for it thinking that maybe Hiro-san had already forgiven him and was calling to say he was coming home. He was severely disappointed and more than slightly annoyed when the caller I.D. said it was Tsumori-sempi calling. Normally he isn't aggressive, especially towards his sempi; but at the moment he wasn't seeing the name of his sempi, but the name of the man who drove his Hiro-san away from him. He flipped it open anyway. "Yes?" "Nowaki, why aren't you at the hospital? You can't just not come into work like that! Our bosses are very angry you haven't shown up without so much as an explanation. Besides, I'm awfully lonely by myself here. Want to meet up somewhere? If that guy has already left, perhaps we can meet at your place. Whad'ya say?" Now Nowaki was <strong>pissed<strong>. "Tsumori-sempi, I know for a fact you're lying. I called them myself to tell them I'm taking my week vacation. I'm on my way to Bluestar Mountain where Hiro-san is so I can beg his forgiveness. I don't want to meet with you like that anymore, goodbye." "Eeehh?" _Click_. Nowaki turned off his phone and closed it. He decided to get some sleep while he waited to see Hiro-san again. He laid back and dreamt of nothing but a cute devil-of-a-professor with brown hair and eyes.

* * *

><p>an: Well, that was the first chapter of Evanescent Regret! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed yourself. What will happen once Nowaki gets there? Review and you might find out in the next chapter...


	2. The Village

**Chapter 2**

a/n: Hello again! This chapter will have some profanity in it, so be warned. This chapter focuses more on what life was like for Hiroki before he left the village. A few more characters are introduced, but you should be fine. Nowaki IS in this chapter, have fun.

* * *

><p>Hiroki woke up feeling refreshed and loads better than he did yesterday. He got up and put on the freshly washed clothes from the day before. He had others like them, but preferred the freshly washed, wind-dried clean feeling to that of the too dry clothes that have been stored in his closet all this time. He would wash them later in the day, but for now he wanted to go and visit his old friend to see if he needed anything. He went outside and relished the fresh mountain air for a moment before starting down the path to the Medicine Man's hut.<p>

Medicine Man was, in everyone's opinion, one of the most strange and brilliant people in the Village. He could heal most any ailment and give very insightful advice when in the mood, along with the fact that he is also a very powerful mage in his own right. Normally people would respect and maybe even fear this sort of person, but people were just baffled.

**Hiroki approached the door and knocked, and heard a disturbance from within.**

People don't really know who he is, where he came from, how old he is, or even what his face looks like. He wears a witch-doctor style mask on his face at all times, and has always requested people to just call him 'Medicine Man' with no explanation. He very rarely gets angry, but has a penchant to call doctors 'quacks' and rant on and on about how they don't know a damn thing their talking about; this habit was adopted by everyone living in the village from the time they are very small and stayed with them to the point where all villagers living outside the village would rather treat themselves than be treated by a 'quack'. The first time Hiroki got sick after leaving the village was hilarious; the doctor asked his parents if he was part duck because every time she tried to get near, Hiroki would back away and start yelling 'QUACK!' at the top of his lungs. A learned trait from being treated by the Medicine Man since he was born. Everyone you would ask would say that he's been here for as long as they could remember; even saying the same was said for their great-great-grandparents.

The door began to slowly open.

**But none of those reasons are why he's called strange. The real reason is that, even though he has the ability to be so wise and powerful, his mind… most of the time… is actually…**

As soon as the door was open, Hiroki saw a flash of tan and was suddenly knocked to the ground. Not but an inch from his face was the ever-masked face of his old friend, Medicine Man. His green eyes looked confused for a moment before he sat back, tilted his head to the side, and said in an innocent voice, "Hiro Hiro? Thought you be that Maki Moth, she yell at poor Medicine Man for love potion! Tried trapping too, she did!" He got off Hiroki and helped him up and led the way into his hut.

…**Is actually that of an ingenious toddler.**

Hiroki didn't mind though, he knew what was behind that childish manner. Inside the hut was dark, save for the dim lighting. The walls were lined with shelves full of old books, herbs, and specimens. Bundles of strange plants, very few Hiroki knew of, were hanging from the ceiling. There was a bare spot right in the middle of the roof where it flowed outward into a chute, under which a fire was burning warmly. Medicine Man had no chairs or couches to sit on but had a couple of soft pillows to sit on near the hearth. He sat on one side of the fire while Medicine Man busied himself with making two cups of his specially blended herbal tea. He sat down across from him and handed him the cup, which Hiroki accepted gratefully. "So Hiro Hiro, what be on you mind?" Hiroki laughed at that. "What? I can't just stop in to say hello to an old friend? Though I did come here with intentions to see if you needed anything and to talk." Medicine Man nodded, "I see that, I see that. But what troubles have you?" He looked him in the eye and sighed, knowing that the knowledge would not be given easily. Suddenly his aura began to change, becoming sharper and more defined. Medicine Man sat a little straighter and set his cup in front of him. "Come now, Hiroki. I know you came with honest intentions, but I can plainly see you are distressed over something." Hiroki took note of his sudden plunge into adult mode, and released a sigh of his own. Medicine Man has always helped him and given him his guiding light. Maybe a little advice would be best. "Well… it involves a doctor-", he tried. "Quacks, the lot of them." Medicine Man said with a definite glare. He laughed at the serious look on his face when he said that, it calmed him enough to tell the rest of the story without bursting into tears. By the end, Medicine Man looked thoughtful. "That certainly is quite the tale, having never gone through it myself I can only imagine the pain you must be feeling." Hiroki looked up at him. "So you're not disgusted with me?" He could see the shock, "No, of course not. It's none of my business who one loves. However, I do not have anything I need, so you might want to go visit old Allomere. I believe he would love to have a visit from you." Hiroki nodded and turned to leave, but was stopped by Medicine Man. "Oh, and you'll be fine. I've known you since the day you were born, so trust me when I say I've seen you survive worse. You just need time." He smiled and thanked him for the tea and his time and left for the forest path. After the door closed, Medicine Man reverted back and snickered to himself. "Bye bye, Hiro Hiro!" Then he heard a crash as one of his windows was shattered. He bent down and picked up the note attached to the stone. _I want my love potion, old man! –Makine_. He gulped, "Maybe I do need something. Maki Moth repellent!"

* * *

><p>Hiroki finally made it to the cliffs after thirty minutes of hiking. The rest of the village was probably up and about by now, if the noise coming from that direction was any indication. He and his sister would always play around here when they were kids, not really caring about the danger that the height caused. It was on one of these peaks that they met their mentor, Allomere. He was sitting on a branch near Coronary Peak when they came walking along the trail. He was in his true form, which was probably why they didn't notice him.<p>

_**Flashback**_

"_Hey, Hiroki look over here!" Hikari ran over to one of cliffs overlooking the valley below. "I heard some of the warriors talking about this place. It's called Coronary Peak because a lot of people have heart attacks when they look over the edge."She said. Hiroki followed closely behind, curious despite his common sense telling him not to go closer. "Really?" She was now at its edge, waiting for him. "Let's try it out!" They both knelt down to look down the ravine. _

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you, young ones." _

_They jumped and whirled to face the newcomer, but didn't see anyone. "Come now, don't you think that it's a bad idea to lean over the edge of a cliff? Weren't you scared?" Hiroki stepped forward, still looking for the speaker. "No… more curious than scared, really."He walked under a tree, and heard a chuckle from above him. "Such interesting children I see. Boy, girl, what are your names?" The siblings looked at each other and shrugged, "Hiroki and Hikari Kamijou." "Why is it that you don't cringe from the cliffside, what of your fear of the fall?" Hikari stepped alongside her brother, "We don't fear the fall." The voice hummed as if to himself, "Do either of you have mentors? Speak clearly now!" "No, our grandfather hasn't found someone suitable." "Well then, what would you say if I said I could teach you things no normal man could? Would you care to both become my apprentices? You would have to work hard, but the knowledge you gain will be incomparable." Hiroki and Hikari stared at each other, holding a silent conversation between them. Hiroki spoke again, "We can't learn from a voice alone, and we have absolutely no proof of your abilities; how can you expect us to agree to such a thing on such short notice and on such little information? Do you really think us so foolish and hasty?" The voice just laughed, "Very good, I would not teach such children. As far as the complaints, as a reward I will accommodate them." The twins jumped away from the tree as they heard a whoosh from above. _

_A large gray owl swooped down from the highest branches and landed in the place where they had been standing. Hiroki looked back at his sister, "Is this some kind of joke?" "No, I wouldn't say so," Said the voice, now in front of him. He turned back to face the owl again. Light gray wisps that seemed to come from nowhere began circling the large bird until it completely covered him. After what felt like forever, the wall of wisps dispelled and left a crouching man in its wake. The man had a full head of gray hair and wore clothes similar to that of the villagers, right down to the katana at his side. His body was that of a young man in his twenties, yet his eyes spoke of centuries of wisdom. It was almost impossible for them to look at him and not be completely struck dumb in the awe and respect that his presence seemed to demand. He also wore a smirk full of amusement rather than smugness. "Now do you believe in my abilities, young Hiroki? Little Hikari?" They just nodded, "I can teach you to do the same and more, but it will take much training and focus. Are you willing to give me your full attention and effort?" They nodded again, still not quite believing what they saw. "All right, then. Now all we have to do is get your grandfather to agree. Oh, and my name is Allomere; you may call me that." He began walking back toward the village, leaving the Kamijou twins to follow. Suddenly a thought occurred to Hikari, "Wait a minute! Isn't Allomere the name of the friend that Grandfather is always speaking of?" She asked. Allomere turned back to them and smiled, "Yes, as a matter of fact it is."_

_**End of Flashback**_

That day that they became his apprentices, learning all he had to teach. They had always felt fortunate to have him. He was an Original Master, which was rare now and days on the mountains; forget the cities. Original Masters were animals that could take the form of a human for the purpose of teaching specially selected humans as students their ways. It was a tiger that first introduced the blade to Japan. Allomere also taught them to change into their spiritual forms, to unlock the magical ability in them and take the form of their animal spirit. Despite the fact that they are twins, it is very rare for siblings to have the same spiritual form. But again, the Kamijou twins proved that theory wrong. Both Hikari and Hiroki took the form of a hawk, and were nothing but little hawklets when they first tried it. They had undergone a great deal of training in fighting, magic, and other studies before their downy feathers fell off and their new forms could be used to the fullest.

He finally reached Coronary Peak, feeling nostalgic. The view was breathtaking: the sky was an impossibly deep shade of blue, lightly accented by large clusters of clouds; the valley was cloaked in shadows, but did not subtract from the beauty; the wind was racing through the trees; and the openness of it all made it almost painful take in all at once. He took a second to just admire the sight before walking back the way he came. He turned half-way down the slope and began running toward the cliff. Hiroki released his spiritual energy around him like letting go of a taught rope, feeling it wrap around his form until he was enveloped in it. His body became covered in red wisps as he leapt off the edge… and a great red-tailed hawk spread his wings as he took to the sky, touching his feathers to the breeze once more.

It felt magnificent to be flying again after so many years tethered to the ground. It was just too dangerous to try back home. Everyone here knows not to shoot at an animal unless you are positive it IS an animal and not a villager in spiritual form. That would be messy. In the city, you could be shot down by accident without as much as a thought besides 'Oops, killed a bird," or worse, someone could see him changing and cause a panic. He may be a teacher, but he did NOT want to be cut open in the name of academic interest a.k.a. scientific research. Now THAT would traumatize Nowaki… Nowaki… He probably never would have guessed that he could do something like this. If HE ever saw him change, what would he do? Would he keep it a secret to protect his Hiro-san, or would he be the one to report him? Would he dump him for being so strange, so unnatural? But being like this was the most natural thing in the world for him; the potential for the Change is in every human, just lacking the knowledge to unlock it. Matsuda himself could do it, and he is the most magically challenged in the village! Hopefully Yumi would take after her mother in that aspect. Hiroki still liked to laugh at what a wolf like Matsuda and a Hawk like Hikari would produce… come to think of it, what IS Yumi's spirit animal?

* * *

><p>While lost in his own thoughts, he passed right by the one he was looking for. "Ki… roki… HIROKI!" Allomere had been calling out for ages now, and had had enough. He swooped down and carefully grabbed his wing joints in his talons so as not to injure him, and started to carry the young hawk off to perch on a tree. <strong>That<strong> snapped him out of it.

* * *

><p>Hiroki began struggling to free himself once he felt talons grip his wings. As bad a week as it had been, he was NOT going to be somebody's dinner! But he couldn't get free as they landed on a branch. The bird let go of his wings and he spun to face it, talon raised and beak open to fight. Then he realized it was just Allomere and sweatdropped. "Oh, Allomere! Didn't see you there, why didn't you call out?" He just sighed, "Didn't I teach you to be more vigilant when you fly? If I had been a real predator, you would be eaten. And I DID call out." He began to clean his wings, "If I hadn't trained you for all that time, I would have thought it was a different hawk! But that there white stripe on your back makes you a little bit hard to miss." Hiroki bowed his head, "Sorry, have a lot on my mind." Allomere heard the slight note of pain in his voice and straightened. "What exactly was on your mind, to make you completely forget your surroundings?" Hiroki sighed in aggravation, tired of having to repeat the same story over again. By now the self-pity had long since died to make room for the annoyance at the pity everyone <em>else<em> was DROWNING him in. But his old mentor had asked, so he would tell it again out of respect. So again he began…

* * *

><p>Nowaki was tired after the train ride, as his sleep kept getting interrupted by nightmares: Hiro-san trapped among cannibals; Hiro-san mugged on the way home; Hiro-san stranded on the bottom of a ravine with a broken leg; Hiro-san committing suicide over what he did; Hiro-san forced into an arranged marriage. He just couldn't take it anymore! He needed to see the man for many reasons, but now he just wanted to be certain that he was in one piece! He knew he was being ridiculous and told himself that… out loud… earning himself a nice wide space to walk in, as everyone began to slowly back away from him. He nearly missed his stop and had to jump off the train as it was starting to leave again. 'What a way to start the morning…' He thought to himself. The locals seemed really friendly when he watched them talk amongst themselves, but turned cold when he asked them which way the village was. One even asked him why he was there, so he lied and told them he was there on business. When asked what he did, all he said was that he was a doctor. For some strange reason, everyone within hearing range turned and yelled, "You QUACK!" He didn't understand that AT ALL.<p>

Eventually some girl got tired of listening to him pacing around trying to ask for directions and told him the way just to shut him up. 'He'll get what's coming to him when he gets there, that's for sure. Outsiders typically never care for a second visit,' She thought He went to where the girl showed him and found the bus. The people on board were no kinder than those at the station, most ignoring and a few sneering at him. He was let off at the foot of the mountain, where a giant gate stood with 'Bluestar Village' painted in intricate letters on the side.

No one else was around and there looked to be no other way than to climb on foot. Luckily the path was flanked by rising cliffs and most of the way, so it was a clear path. Sora-san had warned him about this, so he was well prepared for the climb. To everyone on the train, it had looked like he was going camping! The village was a few hours away by car, half a day away by horse, but two days on foot. He had a long way to go.

* * *

><p>It was further in the evening, and he was making good progress. The thought of Hiro-san kept him plowing on. His phone had kept going off, but it was only Tsumori-sempi trying to "bring him to his senses; he's better off with <strong>him<strong>!" But he was nothing without Hiro-san. Why would he give up now after coming so far? He wouldn't, he would find him and bring him home like he said he would. Despite the fact that he had a rather poor night of sleep, he walked/ran with seemingly endless energy. He thought he saw shadows flicker up near the edges of cliffs and around corners. But he was sure that it was just his imagination.

He continued to think that way until an hour later, when he saw a group of two men, one woman, and two young men on horses. The two men jogged at him on their mounts while the woman and boys stayed a good distance away and dismounted. "Oh, thank goodness you're here! I'm looking for-" Nowaki yelped in surprise when the two men jumped from their horses and bound his hands behind his back and forced him to kneel with his head tilted upwards. They didn't hurt, but were firm; they left no room for refusal. Nowaki watched as the woman approached, wary for any signs of aggression. She pulled out a picture from an inner pocket in her haori. The woman looked between him and the photo repeatedly, wanting to be sure of no mistake. But there had to be one, Nowaki had done absolutely nothing wrong! He knew they hated outsiders, but they were not barbaric. She looked at the men grimly and nodded once. One of the men let go of his hands and tied them, also placing a cloth in his mouth as a gag. The same man grabbed his bag and told the two boys to begin searching it for weapons, but not to break or lose anything and put it all back where they found it. The woman whistled behind her and a cart also pulled by horses came out from around a corner and came at them.

As it pulled around, Nowaki gasped around the gag. It wasn't a cart but a large sort of wooden cell on wheels made from wood with steel bars to prevent escape. It all looked old fashioned, and big enough for even a tall man like him to stand in comfortably; but was too heavy to knock over from the inside. The bars were thick enough that it would be hard to see the occupant clearly from at least thirty feet away. He heard shifting behind him, and the woman spoke to him. "My name is Matau Oji, you will not be hurt if you cooperate. Any resistance will not be tolerated, understood?" Nowaki nodded and was carried into the cart by the two men. The door closed behind him and everyone remounted. The boys had finished going through his belongings, and were giving him strange looks. Apparently they had found the flowers and chocolate that he had planned on giving to Hiro-san… or the picture of the man himself. The looks held contempt and hostility, but not disgust. Either they played for his team or didn't understand the REAL reason he was here. He hoped it was the latter, he didn't think he could handle competition right now and he didn't want to hurt children for wanting the man like he nearly did to Professor Miyagi. Everything was going wrong and he was on the verge of snapping.

He rode along quietly for a large portion of the ride (gag had nothing to do with it, I swear), and was on the verge of falling asleep when he heard the sound of approaching hoof beats. Nowaki sat up and looked out the bars trying to see. The woman who had caught him, Matau-san, called out. "Oi, haven't seen you three all day! Where've you been hiding yourselves? Not even a 'Good morning!' before I left on patrol! I ought to disown you lot!" He heard a man's voice, "Sorry, cousin! Just enjoying the reunion, Oji, that's all." She pouted, "We ALL missed him! Share him with the rest of us will ya? Oi, Hiroki, get your sorry ass over here and give your cousin a hug!" Hiro-san! Nowaki tried harder to see through the bars and finally spotted him, he and his twin sister sat on similar looking brown horses along with some strange guy with hair the same shade of black as his horse. Hiro-san mock sighed and had his horse trot until they were side by side to give his captor a hug. Wait, COUSIN? The other two riders followed him until they were right in front of the others who caught him. They all looked over to the cart where I was, too far away to see inside. "So, you caught someone on patrol? Tough luck for you, now you have to go through all the procedures for the trial." Hiro-san laughed, and got off the horse, "Well let's have a look shall we?" He walked until he came right in front of the cart and looked in… then he saw him.

* * *

><p>After talking with Allomere for a while, he had only this advice to give: "You aren't wounded, you're not bleeding, you aren't going to die, you still have every bit of health that you ever had, so get over it. Move on. The sun will still rise and it will still set. And as that Medicine Man says, doctors are still quacks. Nothing has really changed; you'll get over it and move on." Strangely… it made him feel loads better. They went hunting for a while, ate a rabbit (an: haha, USAGI-SAN! Stress reliever.), and went flying for the sake of flying. It was great, and really lifted his spirits. Before summer break, he never would have thought he had that much energy! He then left and ran into Matsuda and Hikari, out for a walk. They went and got their horses to go for a ride around the mountain.

They had just left the village and hadn't gone very far when they saw the evening patrol returning, carrying with them the Prison Cart. Something they only did when it was occupied. The patrol was headed by one of their cousins, Oji. A fierce fighter and known troublemaker in her own right. She was also very independent, claiming never to need a man in her life; Makine hated her guts, and Oji practically _thrived_ on that fact.

Her branch of the family was in charge of the stables and horses. They were very well respected for their work, and received nothing but gratitude as it was a very important job. Long ago, a horse Original Master was wounded and received aid from one of their ancestors. In exchange, the village was blessed with horses of equal intelligence to the villagers. That was the legend anyway. But the fact remained that for every villager born, so too was a horse. A horse would choose a rider and would only listen to that rider; the two would be equal partners, family, and friends by this bond. The horse would also live for as long as its rider did, share a telepathic connection, and would aid it's rider as well as it could. This was why Oji's branch of the family was so well respected; taking care of these horses was of the _upmost_ importance to the village people. The only one who didn't have a horse as a partner was Medicine Man; his partner was, for lack of a better word, a bull. They also had to keep and maintain the Prisoner's Cart, and were of no real surprise that they had it just when they needed it. Oji was scary like that.

They talked for a bit when he decided to take a look at the village's new prisoner. It wasn't as if they just apprehended EVERYONE they found on their path; it was mainly poachers, suspicious looking people, and those that the patrol had been placed on the lookout for. You wouldn't believe how many people are so directionally challenged that they wind up lost all the way at the top of the mountain. 'Idiots like that need to chain themselves to a compass,' Thought Hiroki as he approached. 'Wonder if this idiot is any better.' He looked inside and saw… **NOWAKI**?

'Oh no, this CAN'T be happening! What the HELL is HE doing here?' Hiroki had all sorts of mixed emotions at seeing his… what? Boyfriend? Ex? Did it really matter right now? He DID give Grandfather Nowaki's picture so that he would be apprehended the moment he tried to get up here, and that's apparently what happened. All that pain and confusion… and the damn brat had the NERVE to look at him with that same expression like a kid who was just told his second birthday party was tomorrow. That look alone was pissing him off to no end! 'At least show SOME remorse, you little-!' "Hiroki, are you all right? The prisoners not trying anything is he?" Called Oji. "**NO! HE'S PISSING ME OFF!**" The patrol got a good laugh at that. Hikari and Matsuda looked confused and went to look at the prisoner also. The minute Hikari saw his face, she started yelling, "YOU! Why you little mother-fucking piece of _SHIT_, how DARE you come here!" Matsuda was surprised to say the least at his wife's sudden outburst. "Honey, calm down. What's going on?" She turned hissed at him, waving her finger at Nowaki. "THIS is the man I told you about over the phone when I brought Hiroki home! This little… little… BASTARD is Kusama Nowaki." Now Matsuda was also pissed. "HIM? How stupid can he be to come all the way here and… why is he giving Hiroki that look?" She turned and also noticed that Nowaki was still giving Hiroki that puppy-eyed stare. Hiroki was leaning against a tree, rubbing his poor aching temples. The patrol was too confused to have heard their conversation; they were looking at Hiroki with a mixture of confusion and worry. He looked like he was torn between happily walking into the river and strangling the prisoner.

In the end, though, he just got back on Fury. "Come on, we have to get him to the Village Head. He will decide what becomes of him." Oji looked between the two of them and was dying to ask. Sensitivity never stopped her before, so why now? "Hiroki, do you know the prisoner?" "…Yes." "His name?" "Doctor Kusama Nowaki." Everyone looked at each other, then at Nowaki. "YOU QUACK!" Hiroki chuckled at the look on Nowaki's face; apparently this is not the first time this has happened to him today. But that did not change the fact that he was upset with him. Oji turned to him, "Can we trust him not to run if we take him out of the cage? Do you want us to remove the gag?" He thought for a moment, "Yes, but keep his hands tied. Leave the gag in until we get to the main building, I don't want to hear his voice." One of the men unlocked the cage and dragged Nowaki out. He tried to walk over to Hiroki but was intercepted by husband and wife. Both Blackfoot and Spitfire snorted and snarled when he came near. "I think that after all that time in the Cart, he should stretch his legs and walk, ne?" Hikari said sweetly. Oji nodded; everyone arranged themselves so that Nowaki was surrounded on all sides by horses and their riders. Even if he wanted to escape, there was no where he could go. Hiroki was walking on the side of the circle, even with Nowaki.

Nowaki was gradually walking closer to Hiroki the farther they went. He was also trying his best to not be noticed while he did so. Hiro-san was RIGHT THERE! If he could only talk to him, get him in private, and then maybe he could gain his forgiveness. But there was nothing he could do with the gag preventing him from speaking, or the ropes keeping him from grabbing the older male and holding him close. He figured he could do those things later, but now he would just have to settle for being close to the man he loved. But before he could reach him, Nowaki was interrupted, "Village ahead!" They had finally reached the last gateway with the village and its people beyond. '**Bluestar Village**' was painted in letters high above their heads, massive in size and ancient in design; much more elaborate than the one before, so poorly made in comparison. Everyone around him turned their heads to glare at him, especially Hikari and Matsuda.

"**Welcome…**," Hikari. "**To Bluestar Village…**," Matsuda. "_**Doctor Kusama**__,"_ Hiroki.

Nowaki's blood turned icy at how cold the voices were, especially that of one brown haired professor.

a/n: I was a bit mean to Nowaki, wasn't I? But don't worry; Hiroki is still mad at him, that's all. I love that boy to death, but he DID cheat on Hiroki. A _little_ punishment was in order, wouldn't you say? What will happen next? Find out in chapter 3!


	3. Found You

**Chapter 3**

**A/N:** Hello, you lovely readers you! Sorry for the wait, but now I am proud to present to you the third installment of Evanescent Regret! Thank you for all your support and I hope to continue to enjoy such privileges in the future. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Hiroki couldn't believe that Nowaki had found him HERE of all places! To most people, this was the middle of nowhere, a place in plain sight that was never seen. He figured he would have all the time in the world to think about what to do. But as usual, Nowaki managed to ruin his plans. That might have been one of the reasons why he loved him; but no, it would have to be <em>had<em> loved. How could he possibly stay with someone who cared so little about his feelings that he'd willingly sleep with a coworker behind his back? If that's what Nowaki came for, then he was wasting his time. Hiroki wanted to be alone for a while, needed time to think about this new problem. When they got to the main building, he pulled up short while everyone else dismounted their horses. The only person who was required to attend the trial was Oji, the rest of the patrol went to one of the side buildings to fill out their reports. Soon the only ones left where Oji, Matsuda, Hikari, Hiroki, and Nowaki. By then he'd made his decision.

"Can you guys handle this from here?" All four of them looked up in surprise. "What do you mean? Aren't you going to stay for the trial?" It seems Oji couldn't understand why he'd leave someone he knew right before his trial, hopefully she never would. "I have to go do something. Hikari, Matsuda, can you stay here and watch things?" Good thing that Yumi was out learning about herbs with Medicine Man, he didn't want her to be upset by this. Hikari understood, as always. "Sure, we'll take care of things until you get back." He whipped Fury around and began galloping away just as Oji untied the gag from Nowaki's mouth. "HIRO-SAN!" But he was already gone.

He rode away as fast as Fury could take him. It was minutes before he was clear of the village, another before he was surrounded by nothing but trees and the thudding of his heart mixed with Fury's. After a while, he slowed to a trot. There was no one around for miles that would disturb him, at least not for a while. They continued on their path in relative silence; past the creek, up the hills, through the wood. Hiroki knew this land like the back of his hand, this was his home. Fury kept glancing back at him, disturbed by this change in his rider.

* * *

><p>Hiroki had always been fierce, proud, and level headed even as a small child. The day that the village children were taken to choose their horses was the same that Fury had met this human. As a foal, Fury was disgusted at how easily the others let the mini humans clamor clumsily onto their backs; he wouldn't have it. The first human that tried to climb him nearly got trampled, the second he chased over the fence, then to prove his point he charged a group of children near the gate. He stopped just short of running them over, rearing up on his hind quarters to box the air. All of them tripped over themselves running away but one; a small child with brown hair and clear eyes. He landed with his front hooves just centimeters from his own feet; yet the child didn't run, but reached up and rubbed his snout. Fury had been amazed at this, but still wasn't convinced. He shoved his head into the child's midsection and used his head and neck to toss the child into the air. It landed square on his back and he took off into the forest with all the speed his young body was capable of. Not once did he sense fear from the child, nor did he feel the hesitance most humans his age displayed. It was as if they were moving as one being. Fury decided that this human was a much better choice than the others and that he wouldn't really mind having this child as a rider. His sister, however, was much more subtle with her choosing. She had taken his humans female counterpart and slowly crept away from the rest to give it her own test. Judging from the girl's position on his sister's back, she had passed. They'd spent much of their time in the village together, and they'd both grown very attached to their riders.<p>

He was upset when one day he saw two grown humans drag his away, and devastated when he couldn't find him any morning after. He'd tried to stop them, but they'd gone off in that metal machine before he'd crossed the field and lost him after a few miles. If he'd managed to stop them from taking his human that day, then maybe he wouldn't look so wounded today. Or at least that's what Fury thought. Spitfire kept telling him there was nothing he could have done; a foal would be no match for two armed humans. His human had returned when he could, but would only be able to stay for a little while. But he never returned in this state. This was not good, but he knew one thing; whatever was wrong with his rider, was caused by that big, blue eyed human.

* * *

><p>If he'd been paying any attention to his surroundings, Hiroki would have noticed the looks that Fury kept giving him. But he was far too absorbed in his own thoughts. Should he wait out here until the trial is over? He had no clue when it would be over, though. His grandfather had told him the two likely outcomes for the trial: let out of the village, or kicked out. There was no possibility that he would be allowed to stay, that much was certain. It was probably for the best; he didn't feel ready to face Nowaki. But he <em>wanted<em> to see him, damn it! Despite everything that's happened, he still loved the bastard! But he also knew that even if he went back, things would never be the same as they were before. He couldn't leave things like this either, could he? Was there even any closure here? He might get it from sending him off the mountain himself, but then again he might not. If Nowaki tried desperately to talk him into returning to him, he would refuse… he thought. The wind began to pick up, causing the trees to roar with the sounds of their leaves. 'DAMN! Why is it that the ONE PERSON I loved more than Akihiko had to do_ this_ to me?' Tears of frustration welled in his eyes as a hill came into sight. An idea came to him. Obviously riding wasn't doing anything to clear his head, maybe a nice flight? He dismounted Fury and left him in a clearing to graze; Fury could take care of himself and would wait here until Hiroki came back. He walked to the top of the hill and transformed. Hiroki thought he heard a slight gasp but dismissed it as the wind while it caught in the folds of his wings and carried him off in its warm embrace.

* * *

><p>The trial had been a short affair; he wanted to stay, they wanted him to leave. Apparently they didn't care <em>why<em> he was there; they just wanted him to leave. No matter what he said and did to try and convince them, they wouldn't listen. The only ones who attended his hearing were Matau-san, Hikari-san, her husband Matsuda-san, and the Head of the Village Kouta-san. Kouta-san had seemed like an amiable enough man while talking with the others but, like many others Nowaki had seen, turned cool when he was brought forth. He soon learned that it was him who gave the patrols the order to capture him on sight, and told him exactly why: to keep him from further hurting his grandson. The situation was explained in detail; Matau-san, apparently left in the dark with all this, was shocked. Hikari and her husband just glowered. Kouta-san kept his face carefully neutral throughout the ordeal. He was quieted every time he tried to interrupt, so he stopped trying until he was done speaking. Nowaki was asked if he denied any of it. He bowed his head in shame, "…No." Kouta-san straightened in his seat. "Very well, then. Now for how you shall be removed from the premises…" His head snapped up, and lunged forward. "NO! I came here to see-" Matau-san and Matsuda each grabbed one of his shoulders and pulled him back to his place in the center of the room.

"I don't care what you came here to see. You have two options: leave on your own, or we will _make_ you. The decision is wholly your own. What will it be?" Nowaki thought for a minute. There was probably little chance they would let him see Hiro-san like this, but he refused to leave without him. If only he could just… that's it! Nowaki allowed his face to fall, head to droop, his shoulders slumped, and every ounce of resistance left his body. The very picture of defeat. "… I'll… I'll just go…" He muttered.

* * *

><p>He was given back his things and shown to the village's gates. As he set off on the path down, he saw small glimpses of people out of the corner of his eye. He continued to trudge depressingly away until he was sure that no one else was following him. The instant he was sure, he leapt into the forest and ran as fast as he could to find cover. He waited for as long as he dared, but no alarm sounded and he could hear no one tromping through the brush after him. For the moment he was safe. After walking for a while, he'd discovered a cave where he could set up camp. He grabbed a bucket and went down to the stream to get some water.<p>

He was about to stick it into the water when he heard the distinct _clip clop _of hooves. Nowaki ducked into the bushes, fearful of being caught. The horse emerged from the trees not even three feet away from his hiding place. It was a brown mare and on it was a man with short brown hair… Hiro-san! Nowaki almost leapt from the bushes, but the thought of others being nearby kept him in place. The expression he wore seemed to scream _conflict_, but then those brown eyes that Nowaki adored so much wandered over to a nearby hill and seemed to brighten a little bit. He got off the horse and let it wander as he walked over to it. He stood at the top of the hill for a moment, as if lost in some deep thought. Then something strange began to happen…

Nowaki watched as glowing red smoke like tendrils appeared out of nowhere; thin at first then slowly growing larger as they enveloped Hiro-sans body. Hiro-san seemed not to notice as he stood gazing out into the sky; and though Nowaki wanted to warn him, he was unable to speak or move. Soon the wisps covered his body, head to toe, forming some sort of cocoon that itself was becoming smaller. It grew smaller and smaller until it was about 56 cm off the ground. The wisps that formed the cocoon began to disperse, leaving a… bird? Nowaki was about to pass out from shock as he watched the hawk flap it's wings a few times, and he couldn't hold back his gasp as the beautiful bird lifted off into the air. Had he just seen that correctly? Did his Hiro-san really just… turn into a bird? Nowaki stumbled out of the bushes, completely forgetting about the horse.

Fury watched as his rider took wing; he understood Hiroki's need to get away for a while, but still wished that he could follow. Now that he was fully grown, Fury could protect his human to the best of his ability now… just not up there. While he watched the human-turned-bird take off, he heard a gasp and turned to see the human that had upset his own. Despite the fact that he himself had never left the mountain, he knew that most humans didn't have or know of such abilities. Nor were they meant to. Fury also knew that this human was one of those. This wasn't good. But before he could do anything about it, the human turned tail and ran. Fury ran after him, but lost the trail further in the forest. Horses weren't the _best_ trackers out there, but he knew what was. Fury turned and began galloping at full speed to find the human Makine's hound dog, who owed him a favor.

* * *

><p>an: SO SHORT! :( Well, there you have it! Sorry for the wait, but I hope that it was worth it! Please read and review. Happy Halloween. :)


	4. Quiet Before the Storm

Chapter 4

A/n: Really, REALLY sorry about the long haitus, but my computer pretty much died and was reincarnated: everything was wiped out, including Windows itself. Only now have I gotten my hands on a working computer, and I've spent much time reaquanting myself with yaoi. XD

So here is my next chapter, and I hope it was worth the wait.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Nowaki had been caught, and Hiroki had been going about life as was typical in the village. In the morning he would ride out on patrol, then go hunting further down the mountain, at noon he would go out with Hikari and Medicine Man and Allomere, and in the afternoon he and his sister would mentor the apprentices. It was enough to occupy his thoughts, enough that he didn't think about Nowaki quite so much. It didn't surprise him that they sent Nowaki away before he got back, but he supposed it was for the best. As things stood, if Nowaki was around… he wasn't too sure he'd be able to resist. What really did surprise him was that they said he left quietly, and didn't even <em>try<em> to go back up the path. That thought stung a little, but no more than finding out that your boyfriend is cheating on you.

That day he was out with Allomere and Hikari. They were soaring over the forest and discussing the plans for the apprentices that night. The apprentices had just learned how to change to their animal forms, and had been separated into three categories: land animals, flying animals, and water animals. Matsuda was going to teach the land apprentices how to travel in their new forms, Oji was going to teach the water apprentices how to swim (and breathe if they have any sense), and he and Hikari were going to teach the flying apprentices to fly. "Now remember, some of them may still have their downy feathers, so it will take them a little longer to get it. Be prepared to catch them," said Allomere. If he could have, Hiroki would roll his eyes. They'd done this sort of thing for years, but when it came to first time flyers he got a little nervous. Not that he blamed Allomere; the first time is often the most dangerous. Hiroki himself had almost died on his first attempt, if Allomere hadn't caught him when he did…

Thankfully, Hiroki and Hikari hadn't lost anyone yet. But it never hurts to be cautious. Hiroki was snapped out of his thoughts by his sister. "Oh relax, it's nothing we haven't done before!" We passed over a lake and she swooped down and when she came back up she was holding a fish. "Besides, they'll have the best teachers available, now won't they?" And it was true, in a way. Allomere himself never taught the apprentices, not unless they were his own. That in itself was a rare occurrence, there was about a five year gap between when his last apprentice left and when he took on Hiroki and Hikari. He still hasn't found anyone to take on as a student yet. Allomere, not at all amused, beat her on the head with a wing, "I'm serious; when it's time to teach them, keep a close eye on everyone. You never know when some bone-headed idiot will assume that he knows better than you and try to go off on his own. It's the stubborn ones you've got to look out for."

Now _that_ he knew better than anyone; memories of fieldtrips past came rushing back, and with them a massive headache: yelling, screaming, pushing, University students running in every direction, order trashed… so many thrown books, so many… he shuddered to think about it. "Uh, Hiroki? You okay?" He realized he was twitching very badly; not the best thing to do when in midair. "Fine, Hikari. Just thinking about some things is all." She just laughed. Hiroki looked up and saw that the sun was at it's peak, "Let's go back, we have to get everything ready for tonight's lesson." They turned and flew back in the direction of the village.

* * *

><p>Fury and Makine's old hound dog, Crowler, had been tracking the dark haired human all week. It hasn't been easy though, both animals had to return to their owners when needed (which was often). Crowler was reluctant to help at first but, upon finding out it was an intruder, decided to help anyway. Hiroki was away for the moment (back in the sky, where he couldn't follow) and Makine was busy teaching the apprentices archery, they decided to take up the trail again. Crowler was pawing ahead of Fury with his nose plastered to the ground. "The scent's gettin' stronger, we must be gettin' near 'is den." Despite his age (and his temper), Crowler was the best tracker in the entire villiage. If he wasn't so quick to bark at everyone, he'd be more openly respected. But there was something Fury liked about Crowler, his temper somewhat reminded him of his little human. After Hiroki disappeared, he would sometimes walk around with Crowler; not many of the others would, and Fury rather thought (though the old mongrel'd never show it) that Crowler somewhat appreciated it.<p>

"This fella smells kinda funny like." He grumbled as he trotted along. Fury snorted in amusement. He wasn't a tracking sort of animal, but even Fury began to notice signs of frequent passage around the area they were going through: snapped twigs, trampled grass, and torn pieces of fabric. Eventually they came to an open area with a cave set into a small cliff-side. They didn't come closer in case the human was still there, but hid out among the underbrush. "Hey! Look over there, do you see that?" Fury turned to look at what Crowler was talking about and saw a strange assortment of items from the villiage scattered just inside the cave. Far enough inside that it wouldn't be immediately spotted unless you looked hard enough, but just close enough to grab in a hurry if needed; apparently Crowler's eyes were still good. But what would that human need with them? Surely he had enough supplies in his pack?

They heard a noise coming from the opposite side of the clearing, and ducked down into the brush. The human came back carrying what looked to be a bunch of sticks tied together with hiker's rope. They watched for a while more, then left after reasserting where the caves location was. Fury thought about showing the cave to Hiroki, but thought better of it since this particular trespasser had the power to hurt his human. So he resolved to show Hiroki's sister and his own, so that they can get rid of this unwanted visitor.

After leaving, they walked in relative silence. The woods were alive with movement of animals and wind. It was a good day for Hiroki's flying lesson, but he hoped he'd be able to catch them before then. "What're you gonna do now?" Fury paced on for a while before answering, "We need to get rid of him."

"Why?"

"You know why: he's an intruder, an outsider."

"We've had those before, bu' you never acted like this."

Fury paused, "He is a danger to my human." Crowler snorted in disbelief. "I _seen_ what your human is capable of, wha' threat does this weak one have? 'E doesn't look like he'd hurt a fly!"

"I don't know how, but he hurt my human."

"I didn't see any wounds on 'im."

"It's not that kind of hurt."

"Oh…"

When they finally got back to the village, they went their separate ways. Crowler to lay by a cozy fire in Makine's hut, and Fury to find Spitfire and Hikari.

* * *

><p>When Nowaki had first seen his beloved Hiro-san turn into a bird, he went back to his cave in shock. Never would he have guessed that his cute little lover (he winced as an imaginary Hiro-san threw a book at him for that thought) would be able do to something like that. After the shock wore off, he did some serious thinking. Did he still feel the same after knowing this? He had fallen in love with the man's tears, did he fall out because of this revelation?<p>

No; Hiro-san was Hiro-san, and no matter what happens he would definitely always be in love with him. All he needed was a little time to get used to the idea; but, as he always said, Hiro-san was amazing. Nowaki thought he looked rather adorable as a bird, too. It's just a good thing he was a pediatrician and not a vet, otherwise it might get a little weird…

After this observation, it was back to square one: how to get him back. It took a while for the idea to come to him, but when it did it shocked even him. Was he really so desperate?

To his shame the answer was yes.

For a week he had snuck back into the village at night, sometimes in the day, and stolen the few things he would need for the plan to work. All the while, not only was he avoiding the patrols but he was also trying to keep track of Hiro-san. From what he'd been able to gather, Hiro-san and a bunch of apprentices were going to be on a cliff about a mile or two off from his cave that late afternoon. Everything was already set up, so all Nowaki had to do was move it to a place near that cliff and find a place to hide. This was his last hope to ever get Hiro-san back; this would either work or cause him to resent Nowaki forever. He prayed to kami that it would work, he couldn't stand the thought of life without the brown-haired professor. Tonight would decide it.

* * *

><p>Oji was on her way to the foot of the mountain to collect the reports for the whole of last week. Most people who come and go don't realize it, but everyone who passes is catalogued going up and coming back down. This is done in secret so as to make it harder for criminals and enemies to sneak in. When she got there, there was nothing unusual going on: there were people going back in forth from their posts on the mountain, the only one not in a frenzy of motion was Topa. Topa was one of the farmer's children who decided the sight of another bale of hay and he was going to go on a murderous rampage. Topa straightened when he saw her coming and handed over the file without complaint. However, he looked strangely uneasy. She didn't think much of it at first. "So, anything interesting to report?" Oji joked. He didn't laugh.<p>

"No, everyone who came up, came right back down again. Only something is bothering me."

That surprised her, "Really, what?"

"Why did the Village Head let the Quack stay? Especially when there was a notice on him?"

Oji was shuffling the files reports together, but froze. "…What Quack?"

"You know, that large one with the dark, navy hair and light blue eyes. Looks like he'd be playing football or something. Kusama Nowaku or something… HEY! Where are you going?"

But Oji was already on her horse and was riding away. She was in a state of worry, bordering on panic. Kusama Nowaki was _not_ allowed to stay… that means that he never left the mountain. There've been situations, not _quite_ like this, but close enough to let her know that nothing good could possibly come out of this.

She brought her horse to a full stop in the middle of the path; chills of dread went up her spine.

_Hiroki will be alone with those apprentices until tomorrow. Hikari will be with him for most of it, but…_

The sun was already beginning to set; she had to hurry! "I have to warn the Village Head!" She cried as she spurred her horse into a full gallop. She just hoped she wasn't too late to avoid disaster.

a/n: There you have it, and yes I know what 's going to happen. But will you? Review and find out in the next Evanescent Regret! Hope to have it too you soon.


	5. Five Oak Trees

A/N: Really sorry, but my computer was caught by a sever virus and I only just recently got a new one. For all you lovely readers out there who were kind enough to keep waiting, I thank you. I have done my best to make this chapter the best possible to make up for the extremely long wait. For all of you I give this new chapter. **Swearing**, so be warned!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

For the most part, life had been pretty happy since his confrontation with Nowaki. Hiroki's grandfather, Hikari, and Matsuda had been trying their damnedest to keep him busy so that he didn't have _time_ to feel sorry for himself. The farmers' crops had been plentiful, the new colts were just about ready to find their riders amongst the children of the village, and some of those children had begun their training to become full fledged warriors. The training for these children were divided between Hiroki, Hikari, Matsuda, and Makine until the apprentices were old enough to be assigned a more permanent mentor. It wasn't like Hiroki could take one; he had to return at the end of the summer to resume his position at M University. Literature was his passion, and he could always return home whenever he wanted. 'That reminds me; I need to find a new apartment to live in. I certainly can't go back _there_,' Hiroki thought.

He was sitting on the top of the fence lining the training hall's field, watching with scrutiny as the apprentices paired with each other in wooden swordfights. He would occasionally walk over to give tips, advice, and correct mistakes. The young children drank in his every word and gazed at him with the same look of deep admiration that spoke volumes of what they thought about warriors. Despite showing the same severity that Hiroki always showed to his students back in Tokyo, these young people were eager to learn all they could from him, so he really had no reason to punish them too harshly. Mind you, he did punish them enough to leave an impression, when your life and the lives of all your loved ones rely on the skills and devotedness of any one warrior, it is never good to have someone there who didn't pay attention or just couldn't be bothered to learn what they needed to. It could lead to someone's death. But it wasn't just the fact that he was A warrior, or even the Village Head's grandson, but because of what he had done when he was little more then their age. No doubt some of their parents would have told their young about that little incident from when he was about nine or ten years old. He gave a small shudder at the memory and tried hard to block it out of his head.

What replaced it though was just as bad. He thought back to what he had seen in his _old_ apartment; the sight of that little twit, Tsumori, pinned against the entry way walls by Nowaki. Nowaki's lips plastered, practically _GLUED_ to his face! Enough time had passed that Hiroki no longer felt sick at the memory; just sad disappointment with a good quantity of fury mixed with it. He supposed that that hurt would never truly go away, but Allomere was right: it wasn't the end of the world. But he'd be DAMNED if it didn't hurt like a bitch!

He gave a hefty sigh as he looked out over the rolling hills that seemed to go on for miles. But this existence wasn't a bad one; after all, these were the people he had been raised with, fought beside, and shared such fond memories with. Today was a special day as well. After nearly a month of training them to hone whatever magical skills the apprentices may possess, it was finally time to show them how to change into their _other_ forms. Hiroki smiled a little. It's such a special thing, being able to change, having that particular connection with nature. Hiroki knew he wouldn't be the same person if he'd never known the joy of true flight. No experience in a plane or helicopter could ever compare to that. He was meant to meet with the other mentors and the apprentices in the forest near the Five Oak Trees, a sacred place full of natural spirit energy that would help the apprentices pull that same energy out of themselves and make their first transformation a little less difficult. The first time is always the hardest after all.

He snapped out of his reverie to look at the suns position, and sure enough it was time to let the apprentices rest before it was time to set out for the Five Oak Trees. "All right, everyone! Go relax, but we will meet in three hours at the gates! Anyone, and I mean _anyone_, who doesn't show up on time will be on 'fertilizer retrieval' assignment at the stables for the rest of the week! Have I made myself clear?" Many of them gulped at the punishment, but Hiroki was gratified to see awe and excitement mixed with the fear. How he wished his students in Tokyo would be more like this. 'It's only right after all, they will remember this day for rest of their lives,' He smiled to himself as he walked away to the main building. Unlike other times, this smile was one of base contentment; not a stress smile, or a psychotic smile, or a smug smile. He was actually happy for once, and it felt great! This happiness was his own, not caused by someone else like it was with his childhood crush on Akihiko or like his love with Nowaki. It was worked for with his own hands and nothing could take it away, not forever at least.

He dropped his sword and bag on the floor of his room and went to lie down on his bed. For a brief moment, he wondered where Fury had wandered off to, having not seen him all day. But he contented himself with the knowledge that such well named horse could absolutely take care of itself. To tell the truth, he was proud of how everyone had turned out. It made Hiroki's heart swell to think of how well the village was prospering, and he knew that he would be sad to leave when the time came. That's were the thought hit him, replacing his smile with a frown of worry, "Is it just me or… I keep finding more reasons to stay the longer I'm here, but… I'm running out of reasons to go…"

* * *

><p>Hiroki woke up just a little before the allotted three hours had gone by, and prepared to meet the others at the gate. To his surprise, everyone was already there waiting for him. Eagerness was written on every one of the young pupils' faces, and he could only shake his head in wonder. Hiroki walked around them to get to the three other teachers. Together they led the way to the Five Oak Trees, eagerness and apprehension keeping the trailing students quiet as they walked.<p>

At length, they reached a dusty clearing with five massive oak trees standing in different corners like a five pointed star. At the base of each tree stood a boulder with a single rune sketched on each. Up above them, the wind rushed through the branches, making them look almost alive as the students beneath them gathered around, but not in, the clearing.

Matsuda, Hikari, Makine, and Hiroki walked calmly into the very heart of the Five Oak Trees. No one uttered a word as Hikari began to speak:

"Apprentices, today we have gathered here, at the Five Oak Trees, to unlock from you your spiritual form. This connects us to a certain animal spirit that helps guide us through our lives. It is a representation of who you are, your hidden desires, your talents, your strengths. These trees have been here since before the first of Bluestar Mountains people were born, and will undoubtedly remain when all of us have taken our final rests. The magic of the spirits is strongest here. Each of these trees, each of these boulders had meaning. This," She walked over to one of the boulders and stood atop it,"represents the element of wind. It lifts the spirit and gives life to us all; when we are born we are filled with wind, when that wind is taken from our bodies we then die. The spirit of wind is one that can never be caught and will always stay with us. It is the Wind Oak." Her speech was met with silence, the young pupils simply drank in her words. Makine was next to go forth, her honey blonde hair and unusually blue eyes were (for the moment) filled with serenity. Oji hadn't made it back from her patrol in time to do it, but luckily Makine was available to take her place. She flowed gracefully to the boulder to the left of the one on which Hikari still stood, and leapt gracefully to its smoothed top. "This represents the element of water. From water we are made, water sustains us through life; it is the beginning of life. It is the healing element of many forms, and can never be destroyed. It is the Water Oak." Matsuda started forward and jumped high, landing with a firm _thud_ on the boulder to the left of Makine. "This represents the element of earth. Firm and steady. Our bodies are made from the earth, and it sustains us while giving us shelter. Earth is the element of substance without which we would be lost. It is the Earth Oak" Finally, Hiroki took his place on the boulder to Matsuda's left. "This represents the element of fire. It is the element of energy, warmth, and passion. These things, this fire, burn within us in all things that we do. Without this, we would be cold and empty-hearted. We fear its destruction, but we can not truly live without fire. It is the Fire Oak."

The apprentices had turned to each speaker in turn as they came forward, but now all eyes were turned to the fifth and final boulder, but no final speaker emerged. "The final element is spirit, the very essence of life. We receive it when we are created, and it leaves once we have died. Now is time for the ceremony. Each of you, one by one, will step forward to complete the change. You will stand in the center, surrounded by all five elements, and your spirit guide will take it's place at the Spirit Oak. Do not fear, we will instruct you on what to do and our power will mingle with yours to help you. Once you have taken on the form of your spirit guide, return to your true form and step back. Now let's begin," Said Hiroki.

* * *

><p>It took a good many hours, but finally everyone had taken their turn and discovered their other form. It was then decided amongst the instructors that they would divide the apprentices according to what type of animal form they had. Makine's other form was an otter, so she took all of the aquatic-based apprentices (generally fish and things of that nature) down to the falls. Matsuda, being a land based wolf, took all of the land apprentices to learn to get used to their new forms further down the mountain trail and into the woods. But Hikari and Hiroki (at least in their opinion) had the best job of all; they were now going to teach all of the flying creatures how to soar.<p>

They took their new students up to Coronary Peak to begin. It was a wonderfully secluded spot so they could practice in peace. Hiroki looked around and counted up the remaining apprentices. 'Ten, eh? Not as many as last year, but still a good amount.' He thought as he stepped in front of his class. "All right! My sister and I will change and then it will be your turn. You will have to do it on your own now, but take as much time as you need. It's easier for some and harder for others. We will wait for all of you to change before we proceed." He closed his eyes and released his spiritual energy. Hiroki felt it wrap around him like a silk blanket. When he opened them again, he was far closer to the ground. When he looked around, Hikari was also in her hawk form and the students were staring at them with barely disguised amazement. Some were even whispering to their friends about the white streak of feathers that ran down his back. He let out a shrill scream to get their attention. Both birds took off from the ground and landed on one of the fatter trees. The branch overlooked Coronary Peak all the way over its ledge. 'Perfect.' He looked back at the apprentices and stared until they got the message. All at once they began to change. Like he thought, some got it immediately while others took longer.

Soon there were ten young little birds sitting on the ground below the tree. Hiroki and Hikari swooped down and landed in front of them. "Very good, young ones. Eventually the Change will become almost second nature to you, as will flying. Now follow me." It was awkward to walk in this form, but he and his sister had little choice if they wanted the apprentices to keep up. Instead of going to the cliffs edge, the apprentices were led to behind the tree were Hikari would keep an eye on them. Hiroki stopped one of them, a young sparrow named Kagome, and waited until the others were safely hidden before leading her to the cliffs ledge. "Come on, there's nothing to be afraid of. That's it, over here. I want to show you something." Poor thing was looking more than a little scared, but that would soon be the least of her problems. Soon the two birds were at the very edge of the cliff. Hiroki looked at her and then motioned for her to sit. He did the same, "Do you know what one of the greatest expressions of freedom is?" Kagome was looking a little calmer now, but shook her head. "The most freedom anyone can have is in flight. We have the special blessing of being born with that ability inside of us. We can soar far higher and farther than any other animal. Nothing is beyond our reach, as long as we have the skies. Do you want to learn how to fly?" She nodded her head, "To be able to make the sky your home, you can not fear the fall." Hiroki smiled a hawk's smile, remembering this same speech being given to him when he himself was merely a young apprentice. He certainly wouldn't forget what happened next. "But before we start the lesson, I need you to look over the edge here and tell me what you see." The sparrow stood and walked calmly to the edge and looked over. Poor Kagome. Poor, trusting Kagome. Hiroki stood beside her and with one wing, knocked her right off the edge and down the cliff. She began to scream long and loud as she found herself freefalling down the side of Coronary Peak. Kagome thought she was going to die. He jumped down after her, wings folded to catch up. Soon they were side by side staring at the approaching ground. He looked over at her and yelled, "Open your wings, OPEN YOUR WINGS!" Too shocked to do anything else, Kagome did what she was told. To her surprise, she was pulled forward until she was almost parallel to the ground. Adrenaline was pounding throughout her body, but she felt amazing. Hiroki kept with her, noting as she began to loose altitude. "Flap, come on!" She did and was soon getting higher and higher. "Hold your wings open and shift your weight in the direction you want to go in to turn." Soon she was high above the trees, looking down and seeing the world hurrying by bellow her. A shadow fell on her and she looked up to see Hiroki flying above her. "So, are you still scared?" She laughed and dived back down to the tree where the others where waiting. "Flap forward as fast as you can to brake, and try to land on your talons." He called. They both landed on the branch above the apprentices on the ground, Kagome swaying and flapping until she finally caught her balance. She thanked Hiroki several times before he left her to collect the next apprentice.

* * *

><p>After a while, all the apprentices had gone on their first flight. Some of them had needed to be caught and returned to the top of the ledge to try again before they hit the ground, but all of them had eventually gotten it. After all, they were just going to get pushed off the top again and again 'til they did, and it was better than hitting the ground. Hiroki and Hikari showed them how to lift off from flat ground, showed them a few tricks, and now they were flying as a group miles up in the sky. Soaring as high as the clouds was exhilarating for all of them, even the teachers. Eventually some of them got curious about the white streak on his back and began asking about it. "It's because he's a Storm Hawk," Hikari said. 'Great, here we go again.' He thought.<p>

"What's a storm hawk?"

"It means he has special abilities in his hawk form," His sister said.

"Really? Sensei, can you show us?"

"Yeah, please?"

"Oh, come on Hiroki. You know their going to keep bugging you until you show them," Hikari pointed out. Hiroki saw a large storm cloud rolling ahead of them. 'Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt…' He broke out from the rest of the group and dived into it, he heard gasps from some of the others as he disappeared and lightning struck down beneath them. As he flew, all he could see was dark gray wherever he turned. It was especially dangerous for birds to fly into any kind of cloud, the water condenses on their winds and prevents them from flying properly. But flying into this kind of cloud was deadly for another reason: the entire thing was supercharged with electricity that would fry a bird and kill it before it ever touches the ground. Even now he felt mini-flashes of lightning lick at his feathers, but instead of pain it made his heart race and his adrenaline to flood through his ears the more energy seeped through his body. It got to the point where he thought he wouldn't be able to contain it anymore, so he dived down, straight through the bottom of the cloud. Right before he cleared it, he spread his wings as fare as they would go and he felt all of the added energy in him release at once. The force of it propelled him to an extreme speed, and he broke from his dive to sweep just above the edges of the highest trees creating a powerful wind. It took him a while to slow down enough that he could return to the group without accidentally knocking the inexperienced apprentices out of the sky. He was pretty exhausted by now, and although he couldn't see it he was sure that the white streak on his back was still glowing from the amount of energy it had absorbed. Just as he was about to pull back up and rejoin the others, he saw Fury and Spitfire running at full gallop trying to reach where he was. HIs horse had an urgent look on his face. He was still a far way off and Hiroki needed to rest after showing his Sonic Flight, so he drifted down to the ground under of the tree below him to wait for the horse.

He couldn't see the group up above, but Hikari would take care of them until he was well enough to go back. Next was showing them how to maneuver around obstacles, but Hiroki wanted to see what was bothering Fury first. He was there barely a second when something large dropped on him. He was startled into flight, only to hit the top of a… cage? It looked like a cage, but it was bound together with sticks, twine, and bits of vine in some places to take the shape of a large dome. There were rocks tied to the outside strategically to keep whatever was inside from pushing the cage off or cutting the ropes that held them on. 'WHAT THE HELL!? Everyone knows better than to go hunting on the day the apprentices change forms!' Hiroki took a closer look at the cage, and felt his blood run cold. No villager made this cage. While he was distracted, something pushed him onto his front and pinned his wings. He cried out in shock and tried to bite whatever it was with his beak. Before he could, he felt a pain in his backside. He may never have encountered one while as a hawk, but he still knew what a needle felt like. Hiroki's struggles grew weaker as his sight grew dimmer. When he was too weak to fight back, the hand that had pinned him lifted up the cage and picked him gently. Before he went under, the last thing he heard was the frantic neighing of a horse and what he thought his captor said. One word: "Hiro-san…"

* * *

><p>Oji, the Village Head, and several warriors and guards rushed on horseback to where Hikari's group was still flying. The people on land had such grave looks on their faces, as far as she could see. So Hikari called her students to perch on a nearby tree while she landed on the ground in front of them and changed back.<p>

"Where is he?" Her grandfather immediately asked.

"Who?"

"Hiroki."

She was confused, what could he have done to warrant such looks?

"Why?"

"Hikari, this is serious! That man who came to see him is still on the mountain, but we don't know where! Now tell us: WHERE IS HE?!" His panic was contagous.

"I… I don't know. He did a demonstration of his Sonic Flight for the apprentices, and then went back down to the ground. I assumed he was resting, but he'd normally be back by now. I was just about to go check on him myself before you came." Her grandfather and Oji shared a meaningful glance. He then turned back to Hikari, "Show us."

* * *

><p>Fury went to get Spitfire, then set out to where their humans were training the younger ones. On the way he explained everything to his sister, and she had agreed to help him get rid of this bad human with him. But first they needed to find their riders. He kept one eye on the sky and she kept one on the trees; eventually he spotted his human doing his strange attack in the sky, he was sure it was him due to the long streak of white that trailed after him. His rider spotted them and landed on the ground somewhere close. They changed directions accordingly and ran in that direction. It took a minute to find him. But what they saw shocked them completely. There was that strange bundle of sticks and strings that he had seen in the cave lying on the ground, but it had heavy rocks attached now. That strange blue-eyed human was standing with an unconscious hawk in his hands. A brown hawk with a white streak going down it's back. He saw the man mutter something to the unmoving form of his rider. Anger unlike anything he'd ever experienced shot through his body.<p>

"HIROKI!" He cried, charging after the human. But the human was already running, not away from him, but _toward_ him. In one hand he held his rider cradled against his chest. But the other had what looked like some sort of tube with a porcupine's hair on it. The human ran along side him and stabbed the hair into his side, pushing on the end of it and kept going until he was alongside Spitfire. He did the same to her, never slowing down. The two horses turned and gave chase, but Fury could see Spitfire growing unsteady and he was having a hard time controlling his legs. His vision warped and grew dark. All the while they had been slowing and the human was getting farther and farther away with Hiroki. He was barely awake when Spitfire finally stopped and fell over; it wasn't long before the same happened to Fury. His last thought was of how he needed to save his rider, and how if he failed he might never see him again.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope that this makes up for the long wait, but now that I have a new computer I should be updating a lot more often now. Found some spelling mistakes and I fixed them. What will happen to Hiroki? What is Nowaki's next move? Will the villagers be able to save him? Find out next on Evanescent Regret! Reviews will get you candy, flames will roast my marshmallows. Bye!


	6. Sleeping Horses, Waking Hawk

A/N: Hello, there readers of Evanescent Regret! I thank you all for your patience when waiting for this story, and this is a special time because we are nearing this stories first birthday. Luckily, this update hasn't been too long in the wait (like the last). If you've been reading (and hopefully enjoying) up to this point, then I suppose that you're about ready to finally find out just _how_ Nowaki is planning on getting Hiroki back. So I'd just like to thank you all for reading and without further ado, here's chapter 6. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Oji rode hard, driving her horse as fast as he would go. The Village Head and several warriors rode beside her. Grim looks were passed among riders. There was good reason for it, too. That outsider was somewhere on their mountain, but no one knew where. Hiroki was missing too, and that did not bode well with her or any of them for that matter. His sister, Hikari, was sharing a horse with Oji, sitting just behind her and gripping her shoulders for support. The apprentices had all been rounded up and sent back to the village with an escort, leaving the group more room to concentrate and less to worry about. As Oji rode on she could feel the tension in her cousin and could only imagine the worry she must be going through. She herself was an only child and had no siblings, but she'd been good friends with the twins for years. Long before that incident all those years ago that led to Hiroki being taken away from them all. With everything that had happened, what else could possibly go wrong?<p>

If possible, Hikari stiffened further behind her. "There," She called, pointing. The group changed directions, and within a few minutes had finally arrived at their destination. As everyone gazed on in shock, Hikari leapt down from Oji's horse and ran over to the two crumpled forms lying in the dust. She let out a strangled sob as she looked down at Spitfire's unmoving body. The other warriors dismounted, and spread out to search. Excluding the Village Head, Oji, and Hikari, there were seven warriors present. One of them bent down at the other form. "Yep, it's Fury all right. Oji! Come take a look?" She walked over first to Spitfire and then to Fury, examining each carefully. She was no vet, but when you've been raised to take care of horses your whole life, you tend to know more than the average person. She looked over at Hikari, who was holding her dear horse's head in her lap looking distraught. "She's going to be fine, girl. They both are. It looks like their just sleeping; pretty heavily too." One of the warriors ran towards them carrying something small and shiny in his hand.

"That explains it," Said Oji, picking up the discarded syringe. "CHIEF! We found… something else, over here. Come quickly!" They all ran to where the cry originated from and gasped. It was like a scene drawn directly from one of their worst nightmares; the kind where the simple poaching of an animal could have the same meaning as kidnapping and sometimes murder, and where the screams of a dying beast could easily be someone you know. On the ground was a few scattered brown feathers, some marks obviously made by talons scratching the ground, but it was the cage that got the most attention. It lay sitting upright, as if the trap had been sprung and caught some invisible creature. The stones were too heavy for a bird, even a large one like Hiroki was, to move by himself. But Oji knew that Hiroki would never take being in a cage complacently, even if he did know his captor. But other than the marks on the ground, there were no other signs of a struggle. No blood, no torn fabric, no anything. But if there was something Oji knew, it was this: Hiroki would have struggled until his dying breath. But that could only mean…

Things began to click in her mind as she looked at Hikari and saw the woman's eyes go hard as she glared down at the rather large and _empty_ syringe now lying in the palm of Oji's hand. Had it been full, she knew that (whatever this injection was) there would have been plenty to knock out two horses… and one comparatively small bird. The Village Head took all of this in with a grave and calculating look. Kamijou Kouta was no fool; he could see what had happened here earlier today just as if he had been there himself. All grew silent as they watched their leader gaze at the cause of such horror. Their stares followed him as he walked slowly from item to item, taking in everything. The cage, the feathers, the scratch marks, never once saying anything. The look on his face was cold, even as he stooped down near the feathers of his only grandson to look at something. He brushed aside a few leaves, revealing to everyone's dismay a small cluster of blood drops. He walked over to Oji and held out his hand for the offending object. She handed it over and waited for him to speak, him being quite silent this whole time. But even without saying anything, they all knew who the culprit was; if you considered nothing else, the syringe covered with old blood from three sources told them everything they needed to know.

"This will _not_ stand. I want Dr. Kusama found, apprehended, and in our dungeon as soon as we can. No more mercy. We must also find my grandson as soon as possible. In a situation like this, time is of the essence. The longer we wait, the more unsure it will be of what will become of him. This is to be treated as a hostage situation and our main objective is rescue. I want more search parties, we'll start at the top of the mountain and work our way down, comb through every inch of this land and leave no place to hide. If it comes to the bottom of the mountain, fan out and search the valley towns, he can't have gotten far." He spoke low and with a kind of deadly calm, never raising his voice but retaining the entire chill of frostbite and comfortless winters.

"However long it takes, we will find them. Whatever he has done to Hiroki will be met with severe retribution." His words were met with nods of approval from the surrounding warriors, the icy fury slowly seeping into them as well. He began to give orders, arranging search parties so that the village was also well protected and his people were well prepared. Oji backed away and left to call her parents to help her come get Fury and Spitfire and take them to the village's vet. But before she went, she took one last look at Hikari; the look on her face was as cold, sharp, and steely as the katana hanging by her side. Oji made a note to tell Matsuda to watch Yumi for his wife today; the village was now on the hunt for Dr. Kusama's head, and it looked like Hikari wanted a share of the kill.

* * *

><p>He hurt Spitfire. He had <em>hurt<em> Spitfire. Her horse, her companion of so many years. He had also hurt her brother, come after him, and now her brother was _missing_ and _he_ was to blame! Hikari was normally more forgiving, more compassionate. But she could not gather a single ounce of pity for this man who had come into her world and threatened what she held dear. Her beloved horse and brother. That man had done this without any remorse or hesitation, if her husband had been there… or her child… She would kill him gladly, as slowly as possible. It scared her that such a person had managed to sneak past them and take one of their own, who knew where they were now? And Spitfire, when she saw her, she had feared the worst: that her most loyal friend was dead on that forest ground. She thanked the spirits that Spitfire was going to be all right, and Fury too, but he would pay for taking her brother. Especially since it was obvious he hadn't wanted to go. If that bastard's done ANYTHING to Hiroki, she would personally rip him limb to limb. As it was, she now had two scores to settle.

She didn't know where Hiroki was, but it seemed that he was probably unconscious and stuck in his hawk form (if he was hit with the same thing that took out Spitfire and Fury). Now her grandfather had pulled her off to the side after giving the rest of their little group orders. His cold look had softened, he knew how she must be feeling. She knew what was coming, and she would have none of it. "Hikari, I understand that you want to find Hiroki, and we'll do anything we can to find him, but everyone would understand if you went to tend to your horse or go check on your family." She shook her head vehemently, "NO! He's out there, anything could be happening to him. And he _knows_! He caught Hiroki when he was in his spiritual form and ran, he _knew_ Grandfather! Who knows what he'll do with that information. And there is no way I'm letting him get away with what he did to Spitfire. Not on his life!" She was breathing heavily; tears welled in her eyes from worry, sadness, and frustration. Her grandfather stood calmly, watching on as Hikari tried to collect herself. He knew perfectly well just how stubborn she could be, he did raise her after all, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. But he would compromise.

"Go home. We'll begin looking, in the mean time I want you to go home and rest. I doubt that anything will turn up for at least two hours, and you know that if we find anything you will be the first person I'll inform. You will not be left out of the search, I assure you, but you look exhausted and will be of no use to anyone if you're dead on your feet. Go now, child, and rest." She made to argue, but knew that he could be just as stubborn as her. So with a few muttered curses, she began the slow trek back to the main house, where she would find her loving husband looking after their scared little girl; a little girl who was worriedly clutching an old dictionary and asking why Uncle Hiroki didn't come home with her.

* * *

><p>Nowaki's blood pounded in his ears the whole way down the mountain. He'd almost broken both of his feet on several occasions while trying desperately to get away with his precious burden clutched possessively to his chest. He paid special attention to how he gripped the rather large bird so as not to crush his wings or accidentally smother it by covering his beak. Or pull feathers for that matter; Nowaki was terrified that he would hurt his Hiro-san if he did because each one was buried in his skin. He ran with Hiro-san and didn't stop until he had reached the bottom. It had taken him a decent amount of time, and he was grateful for the athletic body he had been blessed with that helped him carry his little lover safely down without being caught or injured. He had finally managed to get them to the bottom, changed into fresh clean clothes, and hid Hiro-san in his duffle bag after making a small kind of nest in it out of his own shirts. Nowaki had walked straight into the nearby town like a sane person, gone to the nearest inn, left his things and Hiro-san there, gone to a nearby hunting store, and gotten a cage and stand that would allow a large hawk to stand comfortably with it's wings out. Which is exactly what he wanted.<p>

When he got back to the inn, Hiro-san still hadn't woken yet. Not surprising, when you consider how much sedative he had given the bird/man. He had set up the cage on the desk nearby and put Hiroki inside of it. They couldn't stay long in this place, he knew that. The people of that village were bound to realize something is up when Hiro-san never comes back from whatever he was doing when he caught him. But he was tired and on edge, needed to think some things through while Hiro-san was still sleeping. He plopped down on the soft bed and looked around at his meager surroundings. The room was designed to look like the inside of a log cabin, with plain gray sheets, hard wood floors, bare furniture, and huge windows with both blinds and curtains that Nowaki quickly shut. He was on the second floor, but if his Hiro-san could turn into an animal, why not those other villagers? He needed to keep a low profile until he could get safely away or convince his lover to accept him again.

His lover… Now that he stopped to catch his breath, he was absolutely shocked at desperate he had been. He had not only captured Hiro-san and taken him away against his will, but he had_ forcefully injected him with sedatives_! And when those horses had shown up out of the blue, he was so shocked that he instantly went on the offensive like they were going to tell the villagers on him. Had he not seen a university professor turn into a hawk and fly away, he would have thought that it was ridiculous the way he had reacted. But he couldn't be quite sure anymore. He had been so desperate that he had done the unthinkable. Not once had he thought about what Hiro-san's reaction would be when he woke up, but now he was terrified. Not of the man himself, no, he loved him far too much for that. But he _was_ terrified of being rejected after all this time apart from his dear lover. He was overjoyed to finally be near him again, but how long would that last him? Until Hiro-san woke? Until those people finally catch up? How long?

Nowaki held his face cradled in his hands and sighed heavily. What in the world had he been thinking? He stiffened when he saw the small lump in the cage move, but Hiro-san was only shifting in his sleep. 'I knew what I was thinking. I can't let him go; not now, not ever.' He had no parents; Hiro-san was the single most important person in his life, and there was no way he would have been able to leave that mountain after seeing Hiro-san again. At least not without him. Nowaki didn't think he could live without his cute, beautiful, smart, and kind lover. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't believe he had _actually_, and of his_ own free will_, cheated on Hiro-san. After all they've been through, the man didn't deserve that, not ever. If only there was some way that Nowaki could make it up to him, any way at all. But he swore to himself that if by some _miracle_ he was forgiven, he would never do anything to harm and everything to love his Hiro-san for the rest of his life.

He sighed again and laid back on the bed. After everything that had happened today, Nowaki was tired. Who knew what tomorrow would bring? But for now he would sleep, and look forward to talking to Hiro-san in the morning. Great Kami, he hoped that he took him back.

* * *

><p>It was like drowning, everything around him was thick, heavy, and dark. But it was somewhat comfortable and warm, like nothing could harm him. No, he was far too sunk into the inky blackness for that. He didn't know how long he had been there, why he <em>was<em> there, or if there was anything beyond the world he was now in, but for the moment he didn't care. Something squirmed in the very back of his mind, though. It was close enough to notice, but just far enough away that it didn't really trouble him. After a while, the feeling grew stronger and stronger until it was all that filled his hazy mind. But what was it? What could be bothering him so badly in such a peaceful place?

Not long after that, the feeling became unbearable. With it came a new feeling, being pulled up out of the warm darkness and comfort that he had been enjoying. He didn't like it at all, and tried to fight it as it pulled him further and further toward the surface. Wherever it was pulling him, Hiroki didn't want to go. But the more he struggled, the faster he went. Just as he was about to break the surface, his eyes opened.

At first everything was blurry and covered with fog, but his keen eyesight as a hawk soon reestablished itself. He found himself inside a cage in a small room. He stood on unsteady legs, lurching a little as the cage swung on it's hook. What had happened to him? Where was he? Looking around the room did little to help him find out his location, the window was closed off by both blinds and curtains. He tried walking over to the door to unclasp the latch, a simple affair since he wasn't just some bird. If some hunter had somehow gotten him, he'd make sure he knew that you shouldn't pick up strange animals. You never knew what they could do, or how smart they are. He was shocked to find a combination lock on the door; perhaps this hunter was smarter than he'd first given him credit for. Perhaps it was one of those fugitives on the Watch List in the village, someone with a score to settle and is willing to get whoever was most convenient? Hiroki swore in bird-tongue. If it had been a pad lock he could have picked it with his talons, but there was no way he could work a combination lock with no hands and the face away from him.

He wanted out _now_! Hiroki went to the side of the cage and lifted wings still heavy from his deep sleep, and beat them against the cages bars in an attempt to break it apart. Anger added to his strength as he attacked with wing, talon, and beak. If all else failed, he just needed to stay alive long enough for his people to find him and capture whoever his captor was. He stilled in his actions when he felt someone moving towards the door of his room. His memories of the previous two days came flooding back as Nowaki came through the door. The sound of Hiroki struggling had brought him. Feelings of hurt and betrayal assaulted Hiroki as he glared balefully at the man who had the _nerve_ to do this on top of everything else. When would the pain stop? Why wouldn't this man leave him to heal? Nowaki saw that he was awake and gently closed the door behind him. The man's eyes never left his as he went over to the bed and sat down. Hiroki began to feel the beginnings of panic creeping in his breast. Did he know it was him? How? Why? What happened after he passed out? He couldn't possibly know, can he?

"Hiro-san."

The mental debate stopped; there was no way around it now. He knew. More panic ate away at Hiroki, thinking that Nowaki was disgusted at him or had some malicious plan in mind. But his tone had been gentle and full of… longing? That couldn't be right, what fool in his right mind would love a person that sprouted feathers and ate raw prey? Hiroki almost scoffed at the thought. That is, until Nowaki sat down at eye level with the cage and began his bombardment.

"Hiro-san, are you alright? You aren't in any pain are you? How could you leave me alone for the trial? No, never mind that now. Where did you go? Did you miss me? Are you hungry? It is _you_ isn't it? Why are you a bird? Is it permanent?..."

The questions kept coming in a strong and steady flow, to Hiroki's bemusement. How the boy expected him to answer while in the body of a bird was beyond him. And he couldn't change back until he had the room to, and there certainly wasn't enough in his small cage. Eventually Nowaki realized that he couldn't answer, and decided to catch his breath. This was his only shot, and if he failed then he would lose Hiro-san for good. So he had no choice but to do it right the first time around. A thought struck him and he reached back and retrieved a plate of food from the bedside table. He poked some pieces of meat onto a dish on the inside of the cage with chopsticks. "I thought you might be hungry, so I got some food for when you woke up. I'm sorry but I don't know what birds eat so I just got your usual favorite, but maybe you could tell me later?" Hiroki just glared at him. After all, he hadn't forgotten the reason they were in this situation to begin with. To think, at that moment they could both have been sitting on their couch together watching T.V., eating lunch together, going shopping, or being intimate, _just _the two of them and no one else. Maybe he would have still accepted his sister's invitation to come back home, but would have taken Nowaki with him. He would have still been treated like an outsider, but he would have been a guest instead of an undesirable. They had had a good thing going, so _why_ did Nowaki have to ruin it? The more Hiroki thought about it, the more he realized it didn't matter why. Because he _did._ No matter what Nowaki said while Hiroki was here, things could never go back to the way they were before. No matter how badly they both wished it could.

Dismayed at Hiro-san's response, Nowaki tried to reach in his hand and caress his head. As soon as his fingers were in the cage, Hiroki whipped his head around and snapped his beak on them. The man cried out in pain and snatched his hand back. Hiroki gave him a look, 'After all the shit you've done? You think you can _pet_ me? What do I look like to you, a canary?' Nowaki couldn't hear him of course, but the bite was self-explanatory. But then again, he supposed that it was of the same nature as calling him cute to his face. Instead of getting angry, he chuckled. Definitely Hiro-san. The bite itself was shallow, but they both knew that if Hiroki had wanted his finger, it would be sitting at the bottom of his cage in a pool of blood. A warning to be sure, but it was progress. "Hiro-san," He smiled softly. Nowaki sighed and sat on the bed again, facing his Hiro-san. Well, now was as good a time to start as any.

"Hiro-san," Said man/bird looked up from where he had been cleaning his feathers. "I wanted to talk to you, about… well… about what happened. I'm not going to lie to you, you don't deserve it and never did. I… I cheated on you. With Tsumori-sempi." Hiroki let out a shrill shriek and beat his wings furiously at the name, but it had to be done. As a doctor, he knew these wounds would have to be reopened to heal properly. "The affair had only been going on for about a month before you found out. You'd been spending so much time preparing for the final exams and helping with preparing for the graduation ceremony, I was feeling so alone while you were gone. You probably didn't want me to bother you at work and I think we both agree that me going within a hundred feet of Miyagi-sensei would have been a _huge_ mistake. Even when you came home, you were too tired for me to even consider asking anything of you other than begging you to eat something nutritious before falling asleep. I know that's no excuse, and none of this is _your_ fault. It's mine, and no words can explain just how sorry I am or how disgusting I find myself. I missed you so badly, even though I knew I'd pretty much have you to myself during the summer. Tsumori-sempi had been suggesting it for a long time now, but I'd always told him no. He never stopped, though. One night, while you were working overnight at the university, we both went out drinking. I was depressed and lonely and drank more than I should have. Tsumori hardly drank anything at all, and took advantage of the situation. He kissed me and I was too drunk and lonely to fight. In my mind I pretended it was you, I pretended even as he took me to his apartment nearby. I don't know why I did it, or why I didn't sober up when he made me touch him." Nowaki took a deep breath.

"But I just didn't see him, I only saw you. Somewhere I knew it wasn't you and it made me try all the harder to _make_ it be you. When we finished and he fell asleep, I somehow got myself cleaned, dressed, and in our own apartment before you came home. I went to bed, but woke up when you came home although you didn't notice. You thought I was sick, and your worry made me feel even more dirty and unclean than I was before. I couldn't stand the thought of telling you that I'd been unfaithful and tried even more desperately to act normal around you. But the moment you went back to work, I'd sit down on our bed and cry until it was time to go to work and face Sempi. Even though it tore me up inside, I kept seeing him. I could always pretend it was you, your voice, your face, your love, and your body I made love to. But it never was.

"That day, the day you found out, I was trying to end it. I told him that I couldn't do it anymore, that I needed him to leave and never come back here. I also told him that I wouldn't meet him at his apartment or anywhere else unless it was just as friends. But he tried to convince me otherwise. We got into a fight and I lost track of time. Eventually he grew tired of fighting and launched himself at me, forcing me into the wall and kissing me on the lips. Again, my mind substituted him for you and I kissed back, pushing him up against the other wall. When I heard your bag hit the ground and realized what time it was, it was too late. You were home, and you _knew_. I'd wanted so badly to end it cleanly and permanently so that you would never find out and be hurt. But above all else, I feared you would leave me again. I wanted you to stay with me when I didn't deserve it; I know I am selfish and don't deserve it, but I can't help it. I love you. _You_ and _not_ Tsumori-sempi." He had looked down throughout the entire confession, and dreaded the look he would find on his lover's face. He imagined his lover sitting in the desk chair in front of him with a cold and hate-filled expression. Arms crossed, head turned away… rejection. This image-Hiroki was so vivid in his mind that he was almost shocked to look up and see the hawk in the cage. The hawk wasn't looking away, but staring long and hard at him with a predatory gaze that only a bird of prey could accomplish. Something flickered in his eyes, and before Nowaki could decipher it, Hiroki turned away from him and stood staring at the wall.

Nowaki sighed and stood to leave. "I'll be gone for a while, Hiro-san. I'll come back in about two hours. I understand if you don't want to forgive me, but please… just think about what I've said. And Hiro-san? I… I love you… more than you could ever know." Unable to stand the silence anymore, he grabbed his wallet and opened the door to leave. He heard a small trill behind him and stopped. Nowaki slowly turned, but Hiroki was still facing the wall. With a small smile of hope, he left Hiroki to his thoughts.

* * *

><p>'I have to be out of my <em>mind<em>!' Hiroki thought to himself. Now how did he know that he would not be able to resist if Nowaki got to talk to him. He had no doubt that Nowaki was telling the truth when he told him why he'd cheated. Above all things, he was a _terrible_ liar. But that doesn't excuse the fact that he cheated! _No way in HELL_ does it excuse what Nowaki had done! He said he loved him… funny way of showing it. How often do people put their significant others in cages?! Well… there _are_ those BDSM nutjobs, but- OH _HELL_ NO WAS HE GOING THERE RIGHT NOW! Instead his thoughts went back to the villagers. 'They've got to have noticed by now,' He thought. Hiroki began pacing around his small cage. They would be angry, and would probably figure out who took him. That thought made him pause for a moment. What would they do to him if he was caught? They had no way of knowing if he was alright or not. For all they knew he was lying in a puddle of his own blood, dying slowly and painfully as Nowaki laughed. The idea was ridiculous, but they didn't know that. If they caught him, they wouldn't be anywhere as lenient after what he's done. They would put him in the dungeon. They would put him in that dark place where _HE _was. Alone with _HIM_. Even after all of the pain of Nowaki's betrayal, he couldn't let such a gentle person be at the mercy of such a savage. The First Betrayer of Hiroki's life, someone so dangerous that he hasn't seen the light of day for years. Not since Hiroki was nine years old... Panic began to flood his chest and mind, whiting out any rational thoughts he might have had and replacing it with the sharp tang of fear. His own fear. Hiroki didn't realize he'd stopped pacing, didn't realize he'd begun frantically beating his wings against the door of his cage again, never noticed that the hinges of the door were beginning to loosen in his struggles. His only thought was of getting Nowaki as far away from the dungeons as he possibly could, before it was too late. 'Oh please Kami, don't let him go! Don't let him go down there! Not to _him_!'

* * *

><p>Nowaki went to the shopping district of the small town, intent on refilling his stocks for in case they had to hide in the woods for a while. They certainly couldn't stay in this town for much longer.<p>

* * *

><p>Unknown to Nowaki, Hiroki, and Hikari, a single man got off of the train where they all had been not to long ago. A man who had a plan all of his own, and every intention of doing just that.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: There you go, lovely people you! Wasn't too long in the making, but boy do you have no idea what's in store! I finally realized where this all was heading, and I hope you guys are going to love this! This shit is just heating up, so be sure to tune in to _**Evanescent Regret**_**: **_**Chapter 7**_! Read and review if you want Nowaki to get Hiroki back!


	7. Hunting, Kidnapping

A/N: Hello, I'm back with a new, HEALTHY computer that is not likely to die on me. But here is an extra long chapter to make up for the long wait! I WILL finish this story and it will not be left abandoned. I know it's been a long time, and I'm sorry, but this story is going somewhere and I intend to see it through. Now, I command you: enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 7<strong>_

Hikari was up long before the sun that morning. She had never been an early riser; it was a trait she shared with her twin. It took hell to get either her or Hiroki up most of the time. Matsuda could lament for hours about all of the things he had to do to get her to wake up, and _still_ wind up having to rush out of the door at the last minute. He didn't much mind, but it was one of his favorite ways of teasing his beloved wife. But she had slept fitfully the night before and could think of nothing else besides today's hunt for her missing brother.

What sleep she could get was plagued with nightmares of what they might possibly find when they caught up with the young doctor. She was perfectly aware of what obsession could do to a person's mind, and of what horrible things a person would do in the name of love or love scorned. As proud of a person as she was, the thought of not knowing where her brother was, what shape he was in, or even if he was still alive scared her. She woke up screaming numerous times the night. Matsuda would hold her tightly while she cried herself back to sleep. Hikari thanked the spirits that Yumi now slept in the apprentices' hall on the other side of the village. She didn't want her to see this...

The morning finally came and she prepared to head out with Allomere and Medicine Man as her hunting party. By the time Matsuda woke up to see her off she was dressed, armed, and prepared for whatever she would find. By then, her face was completely dry… she was out of tears. Only anger took its place with a determination to see justice done.

Matsuda sighed to himself at the look on her face. He missed his dear one's kind, smiling face. The one that she would always have for him first thing in the morning, to let him know that everything was right in her world and she was happy. God, he missed that. When was the last time he had seen it? It seemed so long ago that she had brought back his friend and brother, even though it was only a little over a week and a half ago. Hikari had been so relieved to have her twin back where she could easily protect him. In his mind, he damned the day Kusama Nowaki came into all of their lives straight into the very bowels of Hell.

"Good morning, sweetheart," He said as he sat up in their bed. She gave a small, fragile smile and went to embrace him one last time before she went out. She knew that this was hard on all of them, and not just her. She loved Matsuda all the more from the bottom of her heart for his gentle and understanding ways and never ending support and love. She knew that, given half a chance, he would be right out there beside her looking for Hiroki. But she knew it was for the best; while she would be out searching, he would stay in the village and help run the information center that had been set up to process reports the search parties brought in. He was good at that.

She kissed him softly and just laid there with him for a few more fleeting moments before reluctantly pulling away to head out. As she left the room, she heard him whisper quietly, almost to himself, "Please… be safe."

She felt remorse flood through her as she walked to the stables. It had struck them both pretty hard, having seen with this kidnapping first hand just how easy it was for loved ones to become lost to you. Good people such as Matsuda, Yumi, and her grandfather should never have to know such heartache.

Before she knew it, Hikari had made it to the stables. She walked down the numerous rows of pens until she finally found the one she was looking for. Inside it laid Spitfire and Fury, held in a standing position by harnesses to protect their internal health while they slept off the effects of the drugs. Oji had told her that it would still be quite a few hours before they woke up, but she'd wanted to check on them before she left. Hikari walked in and pulled a chair close to Spitfire to sit in. She pulled her long head onto her lap and stroked it for a few minutes before she had to leave her horse as well. She just hoped that she was giving the unconscious animal _some_ kind of comfort from the contact, even if she wasn't awake to know she was there.

She was still there when Allomere and Medicine Man came for her. Allomere had a hard look on his face, every bit the predator that he was. Medicine Man's mask gave nothing away as usual, but his healing hands held a long and deadly spear in an iron-like grip; his child-like aura had been replaced by something sharper and more deadly. Everyone was more than ready to go, so she gently released Spitfire's head from her lap and rose to join them. The three left and began the descent down the side of the mountain. They had decided to go on foot into the towns surrounding its base and search from there. There would be no mistakes, Hikari promised herself.

* * *

><p>Hiroki had beaten his wings and talons against the cage until he could no longer lift them. Eventually his initial panic subsided, leaving room for rational thought and planning. Despite how Nowaki had broken his trust and shattered his already fragile heart, he didn't want anything truly awful to happen to him. He knew that if he didn't get Nowaki away from here andor himself back to the village in time, Nowaki would be in severe danger. But before he could decide anything past 'I have to get him out of here', he had fallen unconscious again. That was how Nowaki found him when he had come back from shopping. He would have thought that Hiro-san just decided to sleep while he was away, but he'd been approached by the innkeeper with complaints about all the noise his 'pet' was making as soon as he'd returned. Nowaki had rushed up to find his Hiro-san out cold at the bottom of his cage, breathing heavily.

A hundred thoughts were running through his head as he opened the cage and cautiously took the bird out. "Why? What happened? Why were you struggling like that?" He muttered softly while cradling Hiro-san in his arms. It didn't take long for him to come up with a few guesses. Hiro-san had seen his boyfriend cheat on him, found out that same boyfriend was following him, been drugged, kidnapped, and stuck in a cage, unable to leave. Is it any wonder that as soon as he left, Hiro-san began to struggle? He must have been trying to escape and get away from him.

"I'm sorry… I'm _so_ sorry, Hiro-san!" Tears began to run down his face and drip onto Hiro-san's hawk form. If possible, he held him closer to his chest. "I'm so sorry, but I can't let you go. I just can't. I know it's selfish, but I love you too much to let you go. Please forgive me…" He sat there and cried for everything they had lost, for all of the things he had thrown away so carelessly. He calmed down after a while and put Hiro-san back in his cage, caressing beautiful feathers lightly. Nowaki knew that what he was doing was sick and selfish, but it was like he couldn't stop himself from doing all of the wrong things. He hoped that eventually Hiro-san would forgive him and give him a second chance. And this time, he was _not_ going to mess it up.

He went over to the bed and picked up the bag on the floor, taking out the train ticket and special tag. He put the ticket in his pocket and put the tag on Hiro-san's cage. His plan was to get himself and Hiro-san on the train out before the people of Bluestar Village caught up with them, go back to their apartment, and _beg_ forgiveness from Hiro-san like his very life depended on it. In a way it did, because if he lost Hiro-san he wasn't sure how he was going to go on…

The fact that normal people will think that Hiro-san was just a pet would definitely work to his advantage. He stopped by the train station on his way back and got the tag to put on his cage. The tag listed himself as the 'owner'; he debated what to put in the 'pet name' slot, weighing the risks of recognition. But in the end he just put 'Hiroki' instead. He went around the room, placing similar tags on his entire luggage before realizing that he needed to get some food for Hiro-san to eat on the way. He pulled out a flash card and wrote down his message:

_**Hiro-san, **_

_**Left to get some food for the trip home. I know the cage isn't comfortable, but please bear with it for a while longer; I don't want you to hurt yourself. I will be back soon. **_

_**Love you with all my heart,**_

_**Nowaki**_

He propped the message up on the cage, message facing in, as he turned and gave one last look at the room. Satisfied that all of his things were packed and ready to go to the train station, he left to go get more food. He hoped that Hiro-san would read his message and would not hate him any more than he already might.

* * *

><p>He had been wandering around for a couple of hours, sometimes stopping the locals to flash a picture, asking if they'd seen the subject of it. His blond hair swayed gently as he walked and his grayish-blue eyes swept around, searching for his target. Finally, someone said that he'd seen the man coming out of an inn nearby and showed him where it was. The guy left after that, leaving him to face the young receptionist girl on his own. Putting on his most dazzling smile, he leaned on the desk and flirted as hard as he could. Once he had her blushing and fiddling with her hair, he decided to go for it. He started like he'd just figured something out and snapped his fingers.<p>

"Hey, you know what? I have a buddy staying here, can't miss him! Tall, dark hair, big blue eyes, real looker. Name's Kusama Nowaki. Can you tell me which room he's staying in? I'd _really_ appreciate it, if you know what I mean…" He winked at her. The poor girl started giggling uncontrollably, blushing a dark red before searching the name on her computer. She finally looked up with a triumphant grin, "Kusama-san is in room R4. But I'm sorry, he's out right now." He felt his facial features melt into one of severe disappointment. She began to panic, seeing the handsome man looking so devastated, so she said without thinking, "You can go in and wait for him, if you'd like." She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, but the damage had been done. The man had taken the spare key on her desk and left. Throwing a hurried 'Thank you' over his shoulder as he left.

His smile came back with a vengeance, and only grew as he got closer and closer to his destination. Eventually, the man reached room R4. He stopped and considered all of the things he wanted to do while he waited for Nowaki to come back, the things he _would_ do. He opened the door and stepped inside. He expected to find all of the duffle bags, the suitcase, and the backpack. He smiled at the property tags on them. What he didn't expect to find, however, was the bird just starting to stir in the cage on a hooked stand…

* * *

><p>Hiroki was just starting to wake up again when he heard the door open. Thinking it was Nowaki returning, he looked up with a hawk's eyes. He stilled completely when he saw who it really was. Tsumori stood smiling in the doorway, looking around before his eyes finally settled on his cage with him inside. His face looked confused for a moment, before smiling again and walking into the room, closing the door behind him. The man approached the cage with curiosity, blissfully unaware that the closer he got the angrier the creature in the cage was. He stopped just in front of it, and began to reach his hand forward. Hiroki waited with bloodthirsty eagerness, just hoping, <em>PRAYING<em> that the fool would stick his hand inside that cage _just_ long enough for him to…

But he didn't. Tsumori'd noticed the pet tag dangling from the cage, and he wanted to know what it said. He reached down and lifted it up to his eyes, recoiling at what he read.

'What the hell is this?!' Tsumori thought to himself. With shaking hands, he let the slip of paper drop from his now numb fingers.

_**Property of: Kusama Nowaki**_

_**Animal: Hawk**_

_**Name: Hiroki**_

He looked down at 'Hiroki' and could _swear_ that it was glaring at him with almost human hatred. It was proven when it lunged forward, almost like it wanted to attack him, and dislodged the small flashcard sitting on it. It fell to the floor, causing both to look down at it. Tsumori retrieved it and began reading it out loud, feeling more disgusted with every word.

'He can't be serious! This is unhealthy.' How could Nowaki have done this?! He'd thought that Nowaki had come all of this way to find his ex, the brown hair-and-eyed _human _assistant professor of literature of M University. The stubborn, emotionally constipated, and _violent_ assistant professor. Tsumori honestly thought that once the guy turned Nowaki down flat on his ass for cheating on him, he could be there to catch him on the rebound. Instead, he comes here to find that the guy he wants has somehow confused his ex-boyfriend with this bird, and the bird is what he was taking back with him. Nowaki's given this bird the same _name_ as him, even leaving it a note for the _bird_ to read like it was really the guy. This just wasn't right.

It was clear to him that Nowaki needed some professional help, and even though Nowaki was apparently insane right now the thought of being with him was still attractive to Tsumori. He processed this a moment before an idea hit him. He grinned as he looked back at the seething animal in the cage. 'The first step is always the hardest. I need to remove the delusion, before Nowaki hurts himself anymore,' He thought. "For his own good, of course." He smiled.

* * *

><p>When he had woken up, he hadn't noticed the note right away. At least, not until it fell to the ground. Even though he was still pissed beyond belief at Nowaki, his words still left a familiar warmth in his chest. The look of disgust on that bastards face as he read Nowaki's note made him feel just a <em>little<em> smug. He stood there thinking for a moment, and Hiroki watched him with wary eyes. Tsumori looked over at him and he heard him mutter, "For his own good, of course" to himself with an eerie smile on his face. He tore the card in half and watched with sadistic glee as the halves floated to the spotless floor. Panic flared as the man who started all of this mess grabbed his cage with _**HIM IN IT**_ off its hook and began carrying him out of the room. Once he realized what was happening, he began to try and fight in his way out of the cage harder than he ever had before. The only thing that led to was the hinges loosening just a fraction more as Tsumori took them both downstairs and straight out of the building. Hiroki didn't know what Tsumori was planning to do with him, but he certainly didn't want to find out. "SHIT! Where the _HELL_ is Nowaki when you need him!?" He screamed in frustration. Tsumori heard the bird in the cage give an almost ear-shattering cry of hostility and looked down at him with curiosity. "I wonder what his problem is."

* * *

><p>For hours, they had been trekking through the streets. No one had seen any sign of Nowaki or Hiroki with him. Occasionally, Allomere and Hikari would take turns changing into their winged forms to give an eye in the sky. They went slowly, searching every inch of an area before leaving it, not leaving any place that Nowaki could hide in. They didn't speak much, devoting all concentration to the fine art of the hunt. They were slowly beginning to despair when they eventually they found someone who had seen a man matching Nowaki's description inside a store that sold camping supplies.<p>

They rushed there as fast as they could, and confirmed Nowaki's identity with the store manager. From there, they were led to another witness who had seen him entering a hunting store. One place led to another as they slowly retraced Nowaki's path through the shopping district. The trail eventually led them to one of the inns in the area. It was their best guess that this was where the man was staying and most likely where he was keeping Hiroki. They had decided that a stakeout was the best course of action, knowing that eventually Nowaki would exit with Hiroki with him and they could catch him by surprise.

Hikari poked her head around the building they were hiding behind and saw Nowaki headed toward the building with a shopping bag in his hand. Anger flooded her very being at the sight of him, causing both Allomere and Medicine Man to grab her arms and preventing her from running off to murder the son of a bitch.

"Calm yourself, child!" Allomere hissed.

Hikari snapped towards him, intent on asking him how he was so calm until she saw the look on his face. He was just as angry as she was; Allomere wasn't even looking at her, but glaring with owl eyes over her shoulder at the blue-haired man entering the inn. His grip tightened unconsciously on her arm.

"He is right, we do not know if he truly has Hiroki here or if he is being kept somewhere else! Do not risk paying for your vengeance with Hiroki's life. Remember the plan, once he goes in, we will surround the front entrance and catch him as he leaves." Medicine Man relaxed his hold on her, but gave her a knowing look through his mask.

Allomere nodded, "If he doesn't have him, we will hold him for interrogation. For now, we assume the positions… and wait." Slowly, they encroached on the single doorway from all sides. No one noticed them as they kept one inconspicuous eye on the doorway, never once wavering as the wait dragged on.

* * *

><p>Nowaki had finally found some food that Hiro-san could eat safely as a hawk, but would still be acceptable to a human diet. His mood had improved greatly while he was shopping. Just the thought that his Hiro-san was waiting for him back at the inn did wonders for his wrecked nerves. They would have to leave really soon or risk the villagers catching up with them. He assumed that they were still searching for him up on the mountain, but you could never be too sure.<p>

As he entered, he went to pass by the receptionist. To his surprise, she stopped him. "Oh, Kusama-san! Please wait a moment." Curious, but with a slow, sinking sensation in his stomach, he smiled and approached her.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to tell you that your friend came by to see you."

Nowaki's heart skipped a beat and dread began paralyzing his limbs. His smile faltered a little, but he had to know.

"When… when was this?"

"While you were still out, sir."

"What did he look like?"

"Oh, he had bright blonde hair and such _handsome_ blue eyes!"

The edges around his vision were starting to turn dark and the room began to rock on its sides.

"What happened to him?"

"He said he was your friend and-"

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

The girl reared back like she had been slapped, but the normally gentle Nowaki was being drowned in fear.

"He… he went to wait for you in your room. But he- Hey, wait! Sir!" She called after him, but he was already belting it for the stairway. He took the steps three at a time and dashed to the end of the hall where his room was. After fumbling for a minute to find his key, he burst into the room, panting heavily.

But he was too late, the cage was gone and the note was torn in half on the floor. He clutched his chest and sank to the ground as choked back a sob. 'He's gone… he's gone… oh Kami, where is he?' His head snapped up. 'That girl!'

He ran back down to the lobby and grabbed the young receptionist by her shoulders, rage and grief preventing him from feeling any remorse as she winced in his tight hold.

"WHERE IS HE!"

"I don't know what your-"

"That man, did he take anything out of my room?!"

"Uh, well, yes. He had a birdcage with a bird in it-"

He shook her a little, "How long ago was this?!" She was starting to get truly frightened now, but easily recognized the signs of desperation. She knew she should never have let that man into another guest's room. She was thoroughly regretting it now. "They left about thirty minutes ago!"

He dropped her and ran for the front door. Nowaki didn't thank her, it was because of her that Tsumori now had Hiro-san and who knew what he would do to him? He had no way of knowing who the bird actually is, but Nowaki didn't doubt for a single instant that Tsumori-sempi wasn't above killing his 'pet bird' named Hiroki out of spite. As long as Tsumori-sempi had him, Hiro-san would be in danger. It was now that he regretted kidnapping Hiro-san against his will more than ever. If he hadn't, his beloved professor wouldn't be in this mess. It was all his, Nowaki's, fault. But he would do anything at this moment just to be sure the brunette man he loved was safe...

But this was no time to worry about such things. He made it out the door and into the open air. If he hurried he might be able to catch up with-

"HALT!" He saw several figures emerge from the shadows on all sides of him. They formed a barrier around him, leaving no room for escape.

* * *

><p>AN: Phew! THAT was a long one, boys and girls! After such a long, _long_, _LONG_ hiatus I have FINALLY updated! Hopefully this computer will hold while I finish this story. Only a few chapters left, so stay tuned for **Evanescent Regret: Chapter 8**!

Read and review!


	8. The Chase

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but it has been tough to find a working computer and going to college for the first time. Hopefully this makes up for it. For some reason, I feel like I put a lot of work into this chapter and there is nothing in it. It feels almost like a filler chapter! Well, picking up where we left off, it is time to be mean to Nowaki once again. And for those of you who want to comment on what will happen: how would YOU feel if someone kidnapped a loved one? You wouldn't be too happy either! And Hikari has a BAD temper… So, be understanding people! Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 8<strong>_

Each one of the hunting party drew a weapon; Hikari her sword, Medicine Man his spear, and Allomere his dagger. 'Finally, we _finally_ caught him!' Hikari thought, ecstatic. She was positively starving for his blood, and now she was going to have her revenge on the man that stole her brother from her and hurt Spitfire. They were about to encroach when they heard the mutterings around them. They all looked up to see that bystanders were gathering to find out what the fight was about. With a growl, Hikari darted behind Nowaki, pulling out some rope as she went. Before he could react, his hands were tied behind his back and he was being dragged away from the inn where he had been staying. They didn't move far from it, because it was still possible that Hiroki was being held in that building.

Nowaki was still panicking, and started to fight and kick when they dragged him into an alley. He still had to find Hiro-san before Tsumori-sempi did something to him. He was thrown to the ground and something collided with his exposed stomach. _Hard_. He squinted through the pain and saw Hikari-san moving her leg away. There was no sympathy on either her or her companions' faces. Yet still, he couldn't think of anything other than finding his Hiro-san. She bent down and hauled him up by the collar of his shirt and smashed him against the brick wall of the alley. The pain escalated dramatically, his vision swam, and he vaguely felt something warm and wet drip down his neck. Nowaki knew without a doubt that it was blood. Even after a few seconds, his vision was still hazy. _'Deceptively small, but VERY strong.' _He thought, gazing at a face that was so much like his lover's, _'Heh…definitely his sister.'_ She smacked him around a few more times before finally slamming him up against the wall again. The man in the weird mask stepped up and put a hand on Hikari-san's shoulder, possibly stopping her from doing some serious harm like she really wanted to. She still held him against the wall as the other man walked up. "Now, we're only going to ask you this _once_, Dr. Kusama, so you had better listen the first time around. We know you took him, and we want to answer one thing and one thing only: Where. Is. He?" The air was suffocatingly silent as he felt their glares on him, waiting for an answer. He didn't want to answer, he really didn't. Not that he knew what to tell them, Tsumori had Hiro-san and he didn't know where they were. Didn't know _where_ his Hiro-san was… he didn't...

Nowaki started struggling so suddenly that Hikari nearly dropped him. He was showing more effort and strength than they thought he had. Medicine Man and Allomere both moved in to help restrain him, and as they held him down they realized that he was saying something. They looked at each other and pulled him down to be held against the ground. When he still didn't calm down, Hikari slapped him good and hard across the face. _That_ stunned him just long enough for them to get a word in edge wise.

"Now what the hell are you blathering about, imbecil?" Allomere grunted.

Nowaki looked around him with a frantic, almost feral, look in his eyes. They were holding him down pretty sufficiently, and it didn't look like there was any way to escape without him being followed or injured. He tried to think of some trick, some distraction, _anything_ that could get him out of this jam like he had last time. But in his panic induced state, his mind went blank. There was no way they would let him leave, and the longer they sat there the farther Tsumori-sempi was getting with Hiro-san. He had to tell them. But what if they didn't believe him? Nowaki couldn't blame them if they didn't; after all, he had agreed to leave their mountain quietly and instead snuck back to kidnap Hiro-san. Why should they believe a word he said? And to think, he used to pride himself on his honesty; but now when it mattered the most probably no one would believe him. He didn't know what would happen if he couldn't make them believe him, but he knew that the consequences would be grim.

Apparently he had been silent for a little too long, because they lifted him up a little off the ground and slammed him back, breaking his train of thought.

"Well?" Medicine Man growled.

Nowaki was shaking very badly, trying his best to tell them and failing miserably. They couldn't make out much, but they did make out the words '_gone'_, '_sempi'_, but most importantly_ 'stolen'_. Now that last one got their attention more than anything else. They listened a little harder and heard something about the desk clerk in the hotel he had been staying in, but it was still too difficult to make out. Allomere looked over at the building they were behind, and walked off. Medicine Man and Hikari shared a look and went back to trying to restrain the panicked man.

When that didn't work, Medicine Man decided to give the good doctor a taste of his own medicine. Hikari moved to hold him with both of her hands and Medicine Man used one of his own to prop his mouth open and the other to retrieve some pills from his back pocket. He used his fingers to force the pill down Nowaki's throat, almost choking him and losing his fingers in the process. It was a few minutes before the drug began to take effect. Medicine Man knew that unlike the sedative Nowaki had used, this one would relax him enough so that he could not struggle but not enough to put him to sleep. That was more than the quack ever did for Hiroki or those horses. Sure enough, his struggles slowly died down until he laid limp on the packed earth of the alleyway. Medicine Man looked down at his handiwork with satisfaction.

"Now, are you going to tell us where Hiroki is or do we have to _make_ you? Keep in mind, you will be coming with us so that if we find you have lied to us there will be very…" He looked vaguely at Hikari, "_Severe_ consequences."

Nowaki took a few deep breaths before answering. When he did, the two did not like what he had to say. At all. To Medicine Man it sounded like a ploy to buy time using a wild goose chase. To Hikari it sounded like a convoluted scheme to get them off his tail and onto someone else's so that he could get away with her brother. They didn't buy it for a single instant and decided to start the usual methods of interrogation.

"He's telling us the truth."

Hikari's fist stopped midway in the air towards Nowaki's face at the sound of Allomere's voice. All three turned to look as he approached with a dark look on his face.

"He really is telling the truth this time; I have just spoken to a very shaken young woman in there that said that she let a stranger into a guests room, who came out carrying that guests pet bird and left, and that the guest had almost assaulted her before running out himself. The stranger had blueish eyes and blond hair, she said." Hikari perked up at this, recalling the day she had gone to get her brother only to find said brother's lover was cheating on him. And the guy he had cheated with had also had blue eyes and blond hair… Well, she supposed that if her brother had had a lover idiotic enough to cheat and then chase him all the way to the mountains then that lover would have attracted another lover idiotic enough to follow him to the mountains and steal from someone else's hotel room.

This was even worse than their original situation, before they had had everyone looking for the same man but now there was someone else they needed to look for that they had no information on and only they knew about it. Everyone was still out there looking for Nowaki, who was now with them. They couldn't waste any more time going back up the mountain to report, as Hiroki had already been in that man's possession for far too long. Allomere must have been thinking along the same lines, because he summoned a little horned owl from somewhere, wrote a message on a thin strip of paper, tied it to its leg, and let it go with orders to fly to the information post. With that taken care of, Hikari hauled Nowaki upward until he was standing on his own feet. His knees sunk a little, like they wanted to give out on him, but he remained standing. Without warning, Hikari kneed him as hard as she could in the stomach. He doubled over in pain with a groan while she watched.

"THAT was for putting him in a cage like a common animal."

While he was still doubled over, she spun her arm around and elbowed him even harder on his back. That sent him sprawling on his knees on the ground.

"THAT was for knocking him out."

And finally, she spun her leg up and brought her foot down on his head, finishing him off.

"And THAT was for taking him in the first place and then losing him!"

She picked him back up by his collar and pushed him in front of her. As he walked by, she kicked his feet out from under him. Hikari loomed over his head, "_THAT_ was for Spitfire, you bastard."

This time, Allomere was the one to help him up and to his surprise he was able to walk without being ambushed again. He was to go with them until they located Tsumori-sempi and Hiro-san and to help them search, but there would be a grisly punishment if he tried to run. This they made no secret from him, but it didn't matter as long as they found his Hiro-san in one piece. Despite the sedative they had given him, his insides were still eat up with fear for his little lover. 'Kami-sama, let him be alright.'

* * *

><p>He was <em>not <em>alright! When he thought about all of the awful luck he had been having recently, it made Hiroki almost want to strangle himself with his own hands. Oh wait, he couldn't use his hands. Why, you may ask. Well, at this very moment he was stuck in a cage, being swung around by the BIGGEST IDIOT to ever practice medicine! The blond haired oaf was walking through the woodland lining the outside of one of the villages near the middle of the mountain. And he moving upwards. He didn't know which was worse, being kidnapped by his cheating ex-boyfriend and put in a cage, or being _re_-kidnapped by the ex-boyfriend's ex-_lover_ who he had no clue of his intentions. All in all, Hiroki's life sucked right now. It didn't help that Tsumori was a city brat born and bred, and so kept tripping all along the way. Every time he did that, Hiroki was knocked around his cage. He now had a thoroughly sore beak and wing, which were the main victims of his collisions with the bars. The idiot even DROPPED THE CAGE once, sending the poor bird rolling down a hill. Hiroki was so ill that he nearly threw up, but still the young doctor kept on. He swore that if he EVER got out of this thing alive and with _some_ dignity, he was going to _kill_ this bastard (and maybe Nowaki, too, for starting this whole mess). He never stopped struggling in the cage and shrieked loud and often on the off chance that one of the villagers looking for him would hear and rescue him from this nightmare.

Tsumori wasn't having a very fun time either. He kept tripping and falling into things. He had even fallen face first into a wild patch of poison ivy. Branches and other foliage would scratch him and tear at his clothes, not to mention he almost walked off the edge of a cliff once, too. He had several small cuts all over his body, but there were two long and deep gashes on his cheek and down his arm from where he fell on a thorn bush that were still bleeding heavily. Plus, the bird that his apparently crazy friend picked up appeared to be psychotic. It kept flapping its wings hard against the bars for no apparent reason, glaring at him, and screeching as loud as it could. The way it shrieked had him mourning the fact that his hearing would never again be the same. This happened periodically, but even more so when he made the mistake of lifting the cage up to his ear to get passed some bushes. He didn't know why, but it felt like the bird had it _in _for him or something. Every time he met with misfortune that didn't affect the stupid animal, it would have this look in its eyes like it was laughing at him. He was almost tempted to just drop it off at some pet store and leave it there or maybe just leave it out here in the woods, but he was on a mission. And nothing was going to get in his way.

First thing he needed to do was find somewhere really high with lots of space, and Tsumori was keeping his eyes peeled for just such a place. The clouds worried him though, they were turning a very ominous shade of smoky-black. However, he kept pressing on and climbing the mountain.

The whole time he was doing this, he couldn't get Nowaki's words out of his head. _"I want to end it, this is too much! I can't keep betraying Hiro-san like this." "No! I'm sorry, but I only love Hiro-san, so please leave our apartment! He could be back at any time!" "I don't want to meet you like that anymore."_ It drove him nuts thinking about it. His hand subconsciously tightened on the cage and he was almost overcome with the urge to throw it and the creature that bore that _person's_ name into a tree. He didn't though, because he was on a mission. And NOTHING was going to get in the way of it. Even himself. Besides, if he was going to do that, then he would have wasted the trip. There were plenty of trees at the _foot_ of the mountain. So he kept on.

Nowaki just needed to realize that he belonged with him; that was all. You would think that he'd have realized already that the assistant professor was not only violent, but judgmental, arrogant, stuck-up, conceited, ungrateful, prideful, oh the list went on and on. But still every day at work all he would hear from his cute Nowaki was Hiro-san this, or Hiro-san that. Nowaki was wasted on the likes of 'Hiro-san'. It made him sick.

And because he loved Nowaki so much, and because he was such a kind person, he was going to help rid Nowaki of his very unhealthy obsession even if it killed the man. It was the least he could do for his love. After which he would heal his temporarily-broken heart, and then when he was better Nowaki would give him his heart and devotion as a reward with gratitude. Simple really.

The clouds continued to get darker, the winds picked up and became gales that not even Allomere could ride easily, thunder could be heard in distance, and the man and caged bird slowly ascended the side of the mountain. He didn't notice that the blood from his wounds was still bleeding badly and would drip continuously on the forest ground.

* * *

><p>Nowaki, Hikari, Allomere, and Medidicine Man all looked at the black seeping across the sky, and felt a deep, collective sense of foreboding. They had been searching for hours, with nothing to show for it. The four of them where sorting through the wild vegetation up on the mountain, following a tip from someone who saw Tsumori heading in that direction. They were headed up the mountain and were moving fast. There was still no sign of them anywhere, and the whole group was getting antsy. Hopefully by now the message they had sent would have gotten there, but the sky looked anything but promising for birds at the moment.<p>

Very little was said while they searched, the tension getting to all of them. Nowaki didn't have much to say through his concentration for finding his lover. Hikari and the others didn't feel comfortable talking with their friend's kidnapper present. Despite the current situation and the fact that they were all working together for the same goal, no animosity was lost towards the pediatrician. He may be working with them, but the things he had done to get them into this situation still hung heavily in the air. All that silence, coupled with the frustration of getting nowhere with their search, was grating on Hikari's nerves. It got to the point that she felt ready to blow a gasket at any given minute. After all, her temper matched Hiroki's perfectly and was _very_ well known. She was the twin of Kamijou the Devil, and her anger was just as feared as her brother's. All that anger that had been building since the kidnapping just kept building, and building, and building, and BUILDING-

In the end, it was Nowaki that finally set her off. Part of the reason was probably because he was the reason for all of this and he was a convenient outlet, but mostly it was because of how he made so much _noise_. The three of them had grown up here, two of them being predators, and moved without a sound through the forest. You had to be very silent if you wanted any chance of eating when on a hunt. Nowaki hadn't had to do that before, and the sound of his feet on the ground was deafening in comparison to the others. Hikari knew that what they were trying to do was exactly like a hunt; the most important hunt she had ever been on. Any noise made could alert their prey to their presence and could cause her to lose them, and the fool was making far too much of it.

She spun around and slammed him against a tree. The pain that had dulled from their earlier encounter flared back to life as Nowaki's battered body hit rough bark. He flinched but held her gaze steadily. This normally would have gotten him a few points in her book, but right now it just made her angrier. She growled low.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you buffoon?! Trampling around like a fucking elephant; do you _want _that guy to hear you?"

Despite how low she said it, the others heard her and stopped. When all Nowaki did was stare at her, not understanding what he had done wrong this time, she shook him a little.

"What, so you can sneak around just fine when it's _you_ doing the kidnapping, but you can't do it when it's someone else? Is that it? Or is kidnapping innocent people the only thing you're good at? And not even that, since you lost him!"

Nowaki visually winced at the hurt her words caused. It did seem like the only thing he brought to his lover was sadness and pain. He really didn't deserve to have Hiro-san back, but he just couldn't let go. Hiro-san was his life, the only person in his life that really mattered, and sometimes he was the only person that got him through each day. And because of his stupidity, he might lose his beloved Hiro-san forever if he hasn't already. Tears pooled in his eyes as he thought about it. She grimanced in disgust at him before throwing him to the ground. Allomere stepped forward and grasped her shoulder. "Hikari! That is _enough_, do you hear me?! We don't have time to waste on petty anger! Are you even listening to me?" Truthfully, she wasn't. She was staring at something next to where Nowaki had landed. He looked over and grabbed Medicine Man's sleeve, causing him to look as well. There, on the ground and a few leaves were blood drops. Fresh and human from the smell of it. They could see more and more of them leading away into the undergrowth until they were obstructed from view. As a bright flash blinded them from above and the deafening sound of thunder nearby swept over them, the four hunters looked to each other with clear understanding. They were close.

* * *

><p>AN: Phew, that took a LONG time to write, but we are almost at the end. You will not BELIEVE what is going to happen next! Look for it in _**Evanescent Regret Chapter 9**_! Read and Review!


	9. Falling for You

**A/N: Hello fans, I know that this update has been a long time coming, and this is the last chapter of Evanescent Regret that you have all been waiting for! To make up for how long this story took, this one is really long. But I seriously CRIED while writing this, and you'll see why soon enough. After this, **_**PAY ATTENTION NOW**_**, there will be ****one more chapter****! The next chapter will describe what happened to Hiroki during his childhood to make him leave the mountain. A side story, I guess you could call it. Until then, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 9<strong>_

They ran as fast and quietly as they could in the direction that the blood drops led. The wind was a heavy gale, pushing against the four pursuers back the way they came as they struggled on. The skies had gone from a light silver to almost black. It sent chills down each one of their spines. But most importantly, they knew they had to catch up to their targets before the rain hit. The rain would cover everything and wash away any traces of their prey, and any chance of catching them along with it. In their desperation, it was as if all of the differences between the two parties never happened. They were far too engrossed in the small trail of blood that would lead to the person they all were desperate to find. Hikari and Nowaki ran side by side as they pushed through the dense foliage with Medicine Man and Allomere right on their heels. To their relief, more and more signs of travel began appearing the further they went, meaning they were getting closer and Tsumori, in his impatience and frustration, was getting sloppier with covering his trail. They ran for about ten minutes before the woodland suddenly opened out onto a dirt road running cross-wise from the direction they had been running in. The road had been made from a deep gouge made into a hill, so they were standing on one edge of a shallow drop off which was mirrored on the other side of the road.

Allomere, Hikari, and Medicine Man stopped immediately, but Nowaki was slower and nearly launched himself off the small overhang. He would have fallen and been heavily injured if it wasn't for three hands suddenly grabbing onto his jacket and yanking him back. Another flash blinded them and thunder rocked the ground under their feet. Nowaki was in mild shock after his near-plunge, the lightning and the fear for his beloved did nothing to help calm his nerves.

Medicine Man looked at him, "You okay?"

Nowaki nodded and held his hand over his chest, panting harshly and looking around for any sign of where the kidnapper had gone. The others did the same and they eventually spotted more blood down on the road and some leading back up the ledge on the other side. This discovered, the group slowly began to climb down. As the last of them dropped down, they saw something else among the blood and dirt. A few stray feathers, many of which were in a less than pristine condition. This had all of them exchanging murderous looks.

"If he's done something to hurt Hiro-san, I will kill him," Nowaki said with complete sincerity.

He expected for Hikari to jump him and tell him that it was all his fault again, but all he got was a nod of agreement. It might not be Nowaki who did it, but if Hiroki was hurt by this man who now had him, then that man would die. There would be many volunteers up for the job among the villagers and not a single soul would step in to save him. The fact that Hikari and Nowaki, who she hated beyond all others besides the man Tsumori, could calmly agree and act on this notion was a true testament to how much they meant it. That is how much Hiroki meant to all of them.

As they thought on this, a sound began to distinguish itself from the thunder. It was the pounding of hooves, and it was getting closer.

"Quick! Into the brush!" Hikari called.

They all ducked down behind some of the tall bushes lining the side of the road, hiding as the sound got closer and closer. The four of them were all thinking the same thing: if Tsumori had gotten hold of a horse, then tracking them would be harder. Hikari thought about this with worry, then stiffened as an idea came to her. _If he had taken a horse, an ambush here and now could be the only way to catch him._ She turned to the others and relayed her idea, giving out quick instructions. They all got into place, ready to leap out and snare the bastard before Allomere suddenly stopped them.

"Wait! There are too many for it to be him!"

Too late. Nowaki had jumped out and was rushing at the approaching group, battle cry ablaze. The three remaining hunters face-palmed and did so a second time when they saw just who it was the idiot was running at. Within seconds, Nowaki was pinned down by four of Kouta Kamijou's personal guard, the latter of which was shaking his head with a face that was at once bemused and irritated. Hikari didn't know if she should be disgusted at the man's utter stupidity, or impressed that he was so dedicated to taking down Tsumori that he rushed in blindly to take him down. She looked over at Allomere and Medicine man and saw that they were thinking along the same lines as her, if the shaking of their heads was any indicator. Allomere was even pinching the bridge of his nose, which he only did when extremely exasperated. Now THAT was an accomplishment that even Hiroki and Hikari had only accomplished a hand-full of times in all of their apprenticeship!

Finally deciding to have a little mercy on the poor fool, the three approached their village head and the little dog pile on the ground.

"Have you found him yet?" Kouta asked. They shook their heads and Allomere stepped forward.

"But we have found his trail, we were following it and are getting pretty close."

"What trail?"

Allomere, Hikari, and Medicine Man all pointed at the feathers and blood that trailed up the side of the ravine and into the woods. Kouta looked at this a moment, and then at the still struggling dog pile.

"He has been helping you?"

He knew only what was written in the letter Allomere sent; that Nowaki no longer had his grandson, who was now being held captive by someone who had no idea of his true identity and was now in even more danger, but was going to help them with the search as he knew this new person better than they did. Although he was technically now on their side and strictly monitored, call it vindictiveness or some small form of revenge, but none of them seemed too inclined to call the guards off of Nowaki just yet. That is, until they remembered the precarious situation that they were all in. What reminded them?

A shrill shriek of a bird of prey in the not-so-far distance.

There was an even brighter flash of lightning and the sky roared its displeasure as they all froze and stared off in the direction it had come from. And all grew pale when they realized what lay in that direction.

* * *

><p>The wind was so strong, Tsumori could hardly walk. Yet he pressed on. He had fallen in some sort of trench a short while ago and hurt his leg badly. 'A sprain,' he mused. While he had been struggling up the other side, the cage holding the shrieking menace had fallen from his grasp and hit the ground. Hard. From what he could tell, the bird was only stunned but it had finally shut the hell up. The more time he had spent with this bird the more he began to hate it. You would not think that someone as easy-going as him would have much hatred, but you'd be wrong. He had plenty of hate. Hate for his job. Hate for his dirty apartment. Hate for this loneliness he had. Hate for the arrogant Professor that had stolen his one true love away. And now, hatred for the bird that now bore that Professor's name. As he looked inside at the still motionless creature, he felt all of the hatred that he kept bottled up in his life gravitate towards that one stupid animal in the cage.<p>

The thing began to stir, at last, just as he found what he had been searching for and so he began to speak to it out of kindness. "You know, I don't really like animals. So I don't normally bother with them. But you, you are different." Hiroki could barely make out what he was saying, but it was becoming clearer and clearer the more he focused. He turned slightly to see where they were and felt his heart falter as he saw where they were. But he still listened as Tsumori continued to talk.

"I had to get rid of you, what else could I do? Nowaki was convinced you were that _man_!" He spat the word out like it was venom. Hiroki had never heard him speak like that, and now it was beginning to frighten him.

"So, naturally I had to remove the mistake so that he could heal. I can make him see that it was just a delusion, just like his romance with _that MAN_ was a delusion. You'll see, I know I can." He kept walking closer and closer to it, and Hiroki felt his heart frantically beating against his rib cage. Tsumori adjusted it so that the cage was resting comfortably against his chest, held in his arms like a lover. But Hiroki was too absorbed in where they were heading to think to attack his chest as they grew nearer and nearer.

"I was looking for a place just like this so that I could let you go. You would have flown away and there would have been no way for him to get you back. After all, you have nothing to do with this, you're just a stupid animal! What harm can you possibly do?"

'_A lot of harm,_' Hiroki thought as they finally came to a stop. They both looked down from the top of Coronary Peak, the place where he had met his wonderful Master and Sensei Allomere, where he had first learned to fly, where he would always go to leave his troubles behind. Below them, they could see some of the storm that now plagued the mountain, much of which now resided above them. They watched as lightning flashed within the cloud, and how the wind curved the tops of it, but never really moved it, all just below their feet. The same was happening above them. There was storm came from above and below them, and it made Tsumori a little dizzy from the amount of natural power surrounding him. It made him feel invincible.

"But now, I think I've changed my mind."

He hefted the cage in both of his hands and raised it high above his head. Hiroki, now realizing what was about to happen, shrieked out long and loud. The sound startled Tsumori and caused him to drop the cage behind him rather than in front of him. The cage landed on its side and Hiroki, despite being partially stunned again, wasted no time and began to run in his cage, hamster wheel style, as fast as he could away from Tsumori. He didn't give even a single thought to how undignified and silly he must have looked in his haste to get away. Tsumori snarled with rage and began to chase after him, but he had gravity in his favor as he rolled on a downward slope.

He did the best he could, really he did. With Tsumori's injured leg, being in a rounded cage rolling down a hill, and despite his tiny hawk legs, Hiroki really thought he might have had a chance. But as Tsumori lunged at him and finally caught hold of the cage, he knew that he was done. With a sickening drop in his stomach, Hiroki was helpless to do anything but watch as he was marched back to the edge of Coronary Peak and lifted back into the sky again. He knew the same tactic would not work twice, and so he went back to beating his already battered wings against the bars of his cage and shrieking with a voice long since sore and hoarse from crying out. But this was likely to be his last effort, so he was determined, as ever as Kamijou the Devil ever was, to give it his all until the very end.

He thought of his family, how they would probably never know what happened to him. Hikari would probably live, Medicine Man had a special potion for twins in their position that would stop one from dying just because the other one has. She would know the minute he was dead, so she would have plenty of time to take it. He had used it on her before, so he knew it would work. She would at least be able to live her own life. She deserved it, he knew, she deserved to grow old with Matsuda and watch Yumi grow into the fine warrior she was destined to be. His niece, at least he spent some time with her before he… left. He hoped that Hikari would finally mend the rift that had been between her and their parents for far too long. She would make a fine Village Head one day. Matsuda was like a brother to him, was never judgmental of his lifestyle, and was always supportive of him and his sister. The three of them were always so close, now they would only have one another to cling to once he's gone. His grandfather would continue to lead and guide their people until it was time for him to leave as well. But he, Medicine Man, and Allomere were the ones Hiroki always looked up to the most.

He was grateful for everything Medicine Man and Allomere had done for him. Teaching him, healing him, guiding him. He wouldn't be an ounce the person he was today without them. Hopefully they knew just how much he was going to miss them and how important they were in his life. Nowhere in the world can you find anyone quite like the quirky Medicine Man and solemn Allomere. He was fortunate to know them.

He thought of his job. Of all the brats he had taught, he hoped that he at least left them with something to help make themselves better, that his teachings meant something to them. He hadn't gone into teaching because of the students, but even he couldn't deny the feelings of satisfaction and wholeness he felt when his students stood to get their diplomas and began their lives. But it would take much alcohol and wheedling before he would admit that to anybody. He worried for his department with only the good Professor in it. Professor Miyagi would have to do his own paperwork now.

He thought of his best friend, Akihiko. His former crush, who had eventually helped him to find something better. He was such an incredible writer, he hoped that he would find someone else to edit for him soon. Good thing he now had his own brat; he knew that Misaki would take good care of him.

And finally, he thought about Nowaki. He thought of all the bad times they had gone through, all the heartache. The year he had spent in America, disappearing again, running away from Nowaki (twice), being cheated on, being captured, drugged, and put in a cage just like a pet. When he really thought about it, he was about to die all because of Nowaki. But still, he couldn't find it in himself to hate the man. Thoughts of Nowaki still brought out the same amount of love that they ever did. He thought of all the good times they had had, how good it felt to be with him, what the man made him feel, all the memories, what it felt like to _belong _to someone who wanted him just as much as he did them, and the little things they did for one another that made it all worthwhile. He remembered his smile, his laugh, the way he pouted when he didn't get his way, and everything else that made him Nowaki. These would probably be the last thoughts he ever had about Nowaki, and he wanted them to be of love, not of anger. _Heh, even after all this time, after everything he did, _Hiroki closed his eyes softly, _I'd give anything just to see that idiot one more time._

He felt the cage start to move.

"STOP!"

Hiroki's eyes flew back open and stared, unbelieving, at who had spoken.

Nowaki stood there, a good many yards away from where they were, flanked on either side by Hikari, Matsuda, his grandfather, Medicine Man, Allomere, and some of the village guards. All had their weapons drawn (except Nowaki, who didn't have one) and were pointed directly at Tsumori, still holding the cage high above his head. He lowered it down and held it upright in his hands again. A smile that Hiroki now noted was more than slightly unhinged crossed his features as soon as he set eyes on Nowaki.

"Nowaki! You came to see me! How sweet of you." He battered his eyelashes at him in a disgustingly sluttish display. Hiroki glared at him, and felt his hatred for the man grow. Nowaki had taken only a second to look at his former sempi and then switched to the poor thing sitting in the cage. Hiroki didn't think he'd ever seen Nowaki so angry before. The man looked ready to murder.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"

The others jumped a little. Those around Nowaki gave him questioning looks; when he didn't respond, they looked over to where his attention was centered and gasped. He shrunk back a little from their gazes with a wince. Hiroki didn't even want to _think_ about how he must look at the moment. It couldn't have been good if even the hardened warriors of Bluestar Village found it shocking. He tried giving a little trill of reassurance, but it hurt his throat to even do that and so came out as a low growl instead.

Tsumori glared down at the bird in the cage and shook it a little to make it be quiet.

He was actually taken aback by Nowaki's anger and the hardened looks being given to him by the strangers surrounding him. Why were they here anyway? _Who_ were they? Were these the people that Nowaki had been meeting while he was here? He shook his head to clear it. No, it didn't matter. Nowaki took his movement as a sign of denial. He took a step towards the two and held out his hand expectantly.

"Give him back!"

"Why? It's just a stupid bird. You can get another one, and we can name it together! It can live in our new apartment, and we'll both take care of it. How does that sound?" Tsumori tried to reason. But this just made Nowaki angrier as he began to slowly approach them.

"No. I want Hiro-san! And _only_ Hiro-san!" He looked softly at Hiroki with tender eyes.

"Hiro-san is the only bird I will ever want. No matter what, my heart only has room for Hiro-san."

He knew Nowaki meant it. Hiroki could see in his eyes that he meant it with all of his heart. It didn't matter if he was a hawk sometimes, or that he was pushy and angry a lot of the time. Nowaki loved him, and only him. He then realized that he had never once seen Nowaki give that same look to Tsumori. And Tsumori saw that too.

Something in his scrambled mind snapped, and Hiroki could feel that something was very wrong as tears began to pour down that man's face and his hands tightened on the cage. He began to struggle again to break free of his cage, making noises born of panic and desperation.

It got everyone's attention, but not in time to stop what happened next.

"Fine! If you want your precious _Hiro-san_ that much, than TAKE HIM!"

Before anyone could do anything and before Nowaki reached them, Tsumori lifted the cage into the air for the third time and threw it with all of his might over the edge of Coronary Peak.

"NO! HIRO-SAN!"

With a yell, Nowaki ran to the edge and jumped over. Realizing what he was trying to do, Tsumori tried to pull him back to safety. He missed and was tackled to the ground by the Village Guards while Hiroki's family rushed over the edge and could only look on in horror. They then bolted up and rode as quickly as they could to the bottom of the gorge that Coronary Peak overlooked.

Nowaki dove down as fast as he could, wind whipping at his face and clothes, until he finally reached where the cage was freefalling. Hiroki was still thrashing around, struggling to free himself, but stopped after seeing Nowaki falling too. Despair unlike anything Hiroki ever felt gripped his heart as he realized just what his brat had done. Tears ran down his beak as he screeched at him, "You IDIOT! Now you'll die too!" But he knew that Nowaki couldn't understand him.

_Don't! Don't you DARE die for me! You could have lived, you could have been a doctor! There's no need for you to die too! _

He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to throw something in his frustration. In that moment, he wished he'd never met Kusama Nowaki; because then, maybe he would have done something with his life and not been jumping after a caged bird falling to his death.

He kept beating his wings even after Nowaki wrapped the cage up with so much love and tenderness in his embrace. He kept beating even as Nowaki whispered, "I love you, Hiro-san," with such finality that his heart broke clean in two. He kept beating until, suddenly, the cage broke apart.

It happened so suddenly that Hiroki slipped out of Nowaki's arms and began flapping out of basic instincts, causing him to hover while Nowaki kept falling. With a cry of dismay, Hiroki dove after him like the hawk he was. He quickly found him again and latched onto his hoody and began desperately flapping upwards, trying to slow him down somehow. But it was futile, they both kept dropping at the same speed.

When the cage broke, Nowaki first felt panic as his Hiro-san slipped from him, and then calm happiness when he realized that, now free, his Hiro-san could save himself. Hiro-san would live! So he was confused when he saw Hiro-san coming back towards him, then he latched on and started flapping furiously like he was trying to take off. It took a few minutes to realize that Hiro-san was trying to save him, even after everything he had done. But he had always known that he was kind. Nowaki knew he didn't deserve him. He still couldn't help the feelings of joy and love that filled his heart when he also realized that Hiro-san wouldn't desert him.

Seeing Nowaki smiling so sadly at him made him try even harder to break his momentum. They kept falling until they finally hit the giant storm cloud that had been building all day. As they kept going, Hiroki began to feel the familiar tingle along his wings and back. In a rush of inspiration, he drew in as much of the lightning's energy as he could, called it from every corner of the storm that he could reach and held it all in his body. He needed to, otherwise it could strike Nowaki. So, he drew in all the lightning to his body. His small body quickly became filled, but he still kept pulling the lightning toward him, even when it began to hurt. It hurt worse than anything he had ever felt, like he was about to explode from the amount of energy that he was taking in; but knowing that any bit of lightning could kill Nowaki, he kept pulling it in. Luckily, the pain began to fade to a mere tingling sensation after a while, letting him stay focused on saving his brat's hide. Without him realizing it, his feathers which had been damaged during his captivity, began to mend, glow white… and grow.

That was the last thing Nowaki saw before he blacked out.

* * *

><p>The group of villager made it down to the bottom of the gorge in record time, and looked frantically around for any sign of bodies or survivors. But found neither. As they looked to each other in confusion, one of them pointed above at the storm clouds. There were many flashes inside the cloud, but no lightning struck the ground. The sound of thunder could be heard, but they could see nothing getting struck. Suddenly, silhouetted by the bright flashes was a giant form. It slowly lowered down out of the clouds and looked to be an enormous bird that glowed a brilliant white. It flapped gently and glided over to one of the lower ledges, carrying something in it's talons. The whole group of villagers ran over to where it was. Medicine Man and Allomere had their suspicions, but wanted to see what it was with their own eyes. They climbed up to the ledge where they last saw it and slowly approached with their new prisoner in tow.<p>

What they found was incredible.

There, lying on the ground, was an unconscious but living Kusama Nowaki. Standing over it was the glowing bird, a hawk they now saw, which stood at around three men high with an even greater wingspan. The glow around it began to fade until it was simply a huge brown hawk, with a back that was mostly white…

"Hiroki?" Allomere called.

The hawk turned to him and closed it's eyes gently. It's form was soon covered by red wisps that covered it's body. It shrank and shrank until it was the size of a normal man, then the red faded away and Hiroki, now back to his human form, collapsed on top of Nowaki's unconscious body.

"Hiroki!" Hikari yelled as she ran to him. Before she could reach him, she stopped short and gasped. The others, wondering what was wrong, also came forward to see and were just as shocked. Allomere and Medicine Man just shared a look. "Well, _this_ is interesting!" Allomere said with a smirk.

* * *

><p>Hiroki woke up with one of the BIGGEST headaches he could ever remember having in his whole life. He groaned and held his hand up to cradle his head. Wait, <em>HAND<em>?! His eyes snapped open and he jolted up in bed to discover, yes, he was indeed looking at his _human_ hand. He looked around and discovered he was in the infirmary back at the village. He looked down and found that someone had also changed him into some sleepwear. Along with the new clothes, he was covered in many areas by bandages, including his head. While he was contemplating this, one of Medicine Man's assistants walked in. Before he could ask her anything, she saw him, clapped her hands together with a gleeful smile, and ran out of the room, much to his chagrin. He groaned again and flopped back down onto the comfy sheets, rubbing his aching temples. Slowly, bits and pieces began to find him again as he tried to remember how he got here.

He remembered being kidnapped by Nowaki, living with him for a couple of days as a bird, getting kidnapped by Tsumori-

Anger and hatred that was only comparable to one other person in Hiroki's life bloomed in his chest. He almost couldn't believe he felt that much hatred for someone, but for that man's sake he'd better hope that his family had already locked him away somewhere secure. Otherwise, Hiroki was going to see just how many bones he could break in ten minutes. And just how loud a pig squeals when you cut off his dick. Once that brief episode of hatred simmered down some, he realized he could only recount up to when he was desperately trying to break Nowaki's fall. They had gone into the storm cloud, and then… nothing…

He gasped. _NOWAKI!_ What had happened to him? Was he still alive? Before he had any more time to think on it (or jump out of bed to find him, as he was about to), Hikari ran in and tackled him to the bed in a fairly crushing bear hug. The air was knocked clean from his lungs and it hurt to be touched almost anywhere, but he hugged her back with what little strength he'd regained. They stayed that way for a few minutes, before she reluctantly pulled away. He then remembered what he had been about to do.

"Hikari, where's-"

She shushed him gently and pushed him back down to lay on the bed. "Easy now, brother. You've been through a lot. Try not to move too much, all of your injuries haven't fully healed yet." He looked back down at himself and all the bandages covering him. He really wanted to know what had happened to Nowaki, but he figured his sister would get to that in time. She knew what it was he wanted to know, so he would wait. Even though not knowing was killing him. So he sighed, settled back into the soft pillows, and resigned himself to his fate.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Only up to when we were falling. We went into a storm cloud and then it's all a blank."

She hummed and looked over to the side, as if afraid to meet his gaze. He felt anxiety from her, but couldn't imagine why, unless- Hiroki paled."HE'S DEAD?!"

Her head snapped up at his sudden outburst, "What? No! I- KAMIJOU HIROKI!" She grabbed her struggling brother who was trying to escape the bed and pinned him back down. "He's not dead! See? Look." Once she got his attention, she went to the window next to his bed and pulled the blinds down just enough so that he could see and not be seen. He looked and saw something that made his heart melt a little.

Nowaki was outside playing with the little children of the village. Off to the side were a couple of village guards, who seemed to be not so much watching him as enjoying the sight of children enjoying themselves. Nowaki was running around with them, chasing a rubber ball and pretending he couldn't keep up with them. Funny thing was that unbeknownst to Nowaki, the children (who engaged in rigorous training every day in their apprenticehoods) were also trying to pretend they couldn't keep up with him. But all of them looked like they were having fun, although Nowaki's smile looked a little strained. Every so often he would look over at the building where his Hiro-san lay unconscious still. Or so he thought.

Hiroki sat back with a relieved sigh. Nowaki was just fine. But then what was Hikari looking so worried about? He looked to her for answers. Seeing he wasn't about to go charging out of the infirmary again, she also sat back. "Well, where to start?" She hummed to herself a little, "Due to your little 'adventure', you had several sprains in your arms and legs. It was a miracle you were even able to lift your wings at all, let alone enough to keep bashing them against the cage like that. From what we could tell, all that damage done to both you and the cage helped to loosen the hinges on that cage enough for you to break free. Your face was pretty bruised up, along with much of your back and front. Your beak even had a nice long crack in it, which you are _really_ lucky Medicine Man was able to fix. I was actually going to beat you up for worrying me so much until I saw how well that Tsumori guy did it. _Kami-sama_, just what did that guy do to you? Kusama swears he only sedated you and that you were fine when he left."

Hiroki told her everything that had happened since his capture. As far as being held captive went, Nowaki took very good care of him. Which was more than anyone who wanted to keep their balls could say about Tsumori. All of his injuries had happened while he was being carried around by the psychotic doctor. She was quiet the whole time, save for a question here and a low growl there. By the end of it, she sat back with a thoughtful look. "So, he was telling the truth."

Hiroki nodded. "So what's going to happen to Tsumori now? I mean, he _is _still alive isn't he?" Hikari's expression looked like she had eaten some bad berries, "Grandfather wouldn't let me kill him, or any of us for that matter. Apparently he isn't mentally stable and sincerely thought you were just some animal Kusama had taken a liking to. The most we could get him on is poaching, so we've had to turn him over to the government. He won't be bothering either you or Kusama again."

"How long ago was this?"

"… Three days ago."

Now THAT got his attention. "WHAT?! How long was I out?" Hikari started rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, belatedly realizing she probably should have started with this. "A week." A slew of very colorful language poured out of Hiroki's mouth that really shouldn't be repeated. At some point during his rant, Hikari even got out a pen and some paper to take notes.

Once he had calmed down, Hikari remembered something else that really needed addressing. "You don't remember what you did after entering the storm cloud?

"No; why, did something happen?"

She looked out the window for a long moment, just staring at the sunset. When he thought she hadn't heard him, she leaned over to another bed and came back with a mirror. She handed it to him without saying anything. He was confused, and more than a little frightened by his twin sister's silence, but he still looked into the mirror.

At first all he saw was his face, battered and bruised yes, but nothing too horrible. Then he looked higher up and nearly dropped the mirror in surprise. His hawk form was mostly brown with a small streak of white down his back, and now he lifted his shaking hand to run through his brown hair… now with a single bolt of white in his bangs. When did _this _happen?! Then he remembered.

_Falling, lightning, growing, landing, darkness._

He looked up at Hikari with wide eyes. "Allomere said it was incredible, that no one else our age had ever achieved the level of spiritual power that you did. Apparently, in your desperation to save Kusama, you forced all of the storms power into your body and it caused the Transformation from a simple hawk spirit with special abilities into a full-fledged Storm Hawk spirit. Now when you change, you can use both forms. Allomere also said that you will need special training to be able to use your new powers, so most likely you'll be spending a _lot_ of summers here from now on. Thing is," She ran a hand down the white part of his hair, "It left a permanent mark on your human self. And I don't think hair dye will work on it."

Hiroki gave a huff and flopped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was a lot to take in, and he wasn't too sure on how he felt about it at the moment. He knew that Nowaki's cheating on his would have had a big impact in his life, but who could have known just _how_ big it would be? Now he had this whole other spirit form that he had to deal with, and even his human body hadn't be left unaffected. How was he going to explain this when he went back to work? Stress? Sun bleaching? Chemical spill? He turned his face into his pillow and attempted the smother himself in frustration.

"And then, there's Kusama."

Hiroki immediately stopped trying to suffocate himself and sat back up. "What about him?"

She gave him a sheepish grin, "Well, Tsumori is in custody, you're back home, and Kusama is being watched in the village. The only thing left is the original problem: what do we do about him and you? He almost gave his life to save you, and that is the _only_ reason he isn't in our dungeon right now. But the fact remains: he disobeyed our laws, kidnapped you, _lost_ you, and attacked Fury and Spitfire! They're okay now, but they weren't when we found them. I guess what I'm trying to say is: after everything that man has done, after everything that has happened, the choice is still yours. Do you still love him?"

Hiroki was quiet. Nowaki had done a lot of awful things lately, which is true, but… when he had been stuck in that cage, about to die, everything had been clear to him.

"Yes. I do still love him."

She nodded, "Enough to stay with him?"

That was the million yen question, now wasn't it? He took a deep breath and held it. Could he do it? Could he really put his heart into Nowaki's hands again after he broke it? It scared him how easily Nowaki had managed to grind his heart into powder; he didn't think he could survive it again. Was it possible for Hiroki to put his trust in Nowaki?

Hiroki gave the tiniest of nods in Hikari's direction, enough to show her his answer.

At this point, he didn't think he'd be able to love anyone else again, his heart was so full of Nowaki. But if his brat made one more move like that, he was going to kill him. His sister would make sure of that, not that Kamijou the Devil needed much help in _that _department.

Hikari sighed dramatically and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Then you're doomed, twin. Truly doomed. Oh well, come on let's go get your man. I'm sure he's worrying his hair out thinking you're still out cold." She held out her hand and he used it to hoist himself out of the bed for the first time in a week. He stumbled a little and had to relearn how to walk, but they eventually found the front door of the infirmary and went through it just in time to see Nowaki waving at the children as they left. Hiroki cleared his throat and Nowaki whipped around to see him.

Before he could really register what was happening, Nowaki had Hiroki pinned back against the door in a massive hug. Hikari just barely managed to jump out of the way, and stood shaking her head at him in annoyance. '_Doesn't this idiot realize Hiroki's still injured? Oh well, what would he know about the healing process anyway; he's just a quack so it can't be helped._' She sighed and left to tell her family the good news and give the couple some privacy. She had a feeling that they'd be seeing a lot of Kusama Nowaki in the future. Hell, at some point it might even be Kamijou Nowaki, but that was something to think about later.

Nowaki held him tightly, as if afraid he would disappear if he loosened his grip for even a moment. Yet his hands and embrace were still gentle as they ran over his back and through his hair. "Hiro-san, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean for him to- I was just so- Oh, Hiro-san!" Hiroki felt mild panic as something warm and wet began trickling onto his shoulder, where Nowaki had his head buried. He hesitatingly brought his own hands to rest on the back of Nowaki's shirt, gripping it as tightly as his talons had so many days ago, trying his best to comfort his lover.

"You nearly died, I nearly lost you forever," Nowaki whispered in pain.

Hiroki just held him tighter, "But you didn't. Tsumori is gone, and I'm still here. I will always be here for you, no matter what."

Nowaki pulled back in shock, searching the smaller man's eyes for some form of deceit or anger. Finding none, he pulled his Hiro-san back into his arms, "Do you mean it?"

Hiroki closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of the village, the mountain, and something that was distinctly Nowaki. "Yes."

Later on there would be talks of fidelity, death threats, and many, _many_ discussions on the best ways to sharpen knives, but for now it was just him an Nowaki standing under the starry skies. Whatever may come their way, at least they had each other.

* * *

><p>AN: Now, how'd you like THEM apples? I hoped you enjoyed this story, but don't forget! This thing has **one more story to go**: the story behind Hiroki's leaving the mountain, featuring the 'Man in the Dungeon' that Hiroki was so afraid of Nowaki meeting! I'm really surprised NO ONE asked about him. Not one of you! But anyways, read and review because now my back, neck, and arms hurt from this wonderful update! Do you hear me?! READ AND REVIEW!


	10. The Nursery in the Woods

A/N: Heya guys! I know, I know, it's been a while since I've updated. And to make things even worse, this is the LAST CHAPTER! But not to worry, I think if you guys liked Evanescent Regret, you'll LOVE this bonus chappy! This here is a little bit of backstory to fill in what happened to Hiroki that made him move away from his sister, why he doesn't want Nowaki to got to the Dungeons for any reason whatsoever, and other little things that I had hoped you noticed enough to comment on but didn't. Oh well, at least now you'll know! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it! Have at'cha!

* * *

><p>The Nursery in the Woods<p>

* * *

><p>It was the end of the summer and was finally time for Nowaki and Hiroki to go back home to Tokyo. As hard as it would seem, Hikari had actually begun to warm up to Nowaki despite their rather rough introduction. Hiroki had spent a great deal of time re-immersing himself in the familiar routines of village life, teaching the young apprentices when he could, playing with his little niece who had grown very attached to him during the summer, and spending time with Nowaki. Things with him had gone right back to the beginning, like it was at the very start of their relationship. They would never be the same as before, not after all of what happened, but they would try and get as close to it as possible. So, to help them get closer, Hiroki gave Nowaki the grand tour of the place, telling him stories of when he was a child and what life was like there. Nowaki took it all in with undisguised wonder, asking plenty of questions and letting his curiosity get the better of him on more than one occasion.<p>

But, almost too soon, the summer was over and Nowkaki found himself in an old jeep with Hiro-san, Matsuda-san, and Hikari-san riding down one of the roads on the outskirts of the village. Both men were all packed up and prepared for the journey home, and the twins conversed amongst themselves while Nowaki watched the scenery fly by. Nowaki loved the beauty of nature, not that it could compare to Hiro-san in any way, and he was sometimes treated to the sight of some wildlife (or maybe a villager? He still couldn't tell the difference). He became lost in his thoughts as the scenery flew by, the conversations slowly fading into the background. There was more wildlife on this road because it was one less commonly used; the one that the trio had taken up the mountain at the beginning of the summer had been closed due to a small landslide, and so they had taken this alternate road. For some reason, the other three were very agitated when they heard the news, but seemed to have forgotten about it now. Either that or they were ignoring the hell out of it. It was very hard to tell since all the Kamijou's he had met so far seemed to have a stubborn streak a mile wide.

He was still looking out into the woods when he saw something strange. It was barely distinguishable from the woods around it, as overgrown with vegetation as it was, but Nowaki could only just make out the structure of a building in the background. Before he could get a good look at it, the thing was lost in the background again. He looked on in confusion, not really understanding what he saw. Hiro-san hadn't told him about any buildings out here, and it was relatively close to the rest of the village. Just barely on the fringe of it, really. He wondered what it was for and why no one was using it.

He looked over at the other passengers in the car and saw that all of them were looking in any direction besides the one that the strange building lay in. Hiro-san was determinedly looking in the other direction, and had gone worryingly pale. His jaw was clenched tightly and Hikari strongly mirrored her brother. Matsuda had a grim expression and kept his eyes steady on the road. Nowaki had been so out of it, that he hadn't noticed that the conversation had gone quiet and the atmosphere had grown tense. Now that he was paying attention though, it greatly bothered him, especially because he didn't know why.

They rode on for a few more minutes, but the silence was agonizing for Nowaki. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore, his curiosity and need for the silence to end got the better of him.

"Hiro-san?"

Said man turned to look at him, giving a grunt of acknowledgement. Not one to be deterred, he asked his question: "What was that back there?"

The effect was instantaneous. Hiro-san and Hikari-san's heads snapped in his direction and their eyes went wide in shock, and Matsuda-san slammed on the brakes in alarm. Everyone flew forward, only stopped by their seatbelts as dust flew all around them from being flung up from the dirt path. Once all of them caught their breaths, Matsuda and Hikari looked at each other and then gave Hiroki a look of worry; Hiroki just looked away, breathing heavily.

"Hiro-san? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head vigorously, as if to shake himself loose from his thoughts. "No, it's fine. I'm fine." He saw the married couple's skeptical looks. "I'm _fine_." Hikari didn't look like she believed him and neither did Nowaki. But before he could say anything, Matsuda began driving again and neither of the other two would look Nowaki in the eyes. For a while, he thought he wouldn't get an answer his question. So he, Matsuda, and Hikari jumped a little when Hiro-san suddenly spoke.

"It's nothing really. Just the old Apprentices' Nursery. Nothing much to talk about."

He could hear the lie in his voice, but knew better than to pry if it caused such a drastic reaction like the one that just happened. That much he had learned while dealing with traumatized children in the hospital.

Hiroki was panicking on the inside, trying to force the fear down, the memories. He knew, he KNEW that coming this way down the mountain was a horrible mistake! He knew, and he _still_ did it! Damn it, there _had_ to have been another way, but now the damage was done and he was _remembering_, and that was extremely dangerous for his mental health. And it wasn't bad enough that they had had to pass it, oh no, NOWAKI of all people had to bring it up, too. Damn brat didn't even know what he was asking! But he still couldn't help it. Couldn't help sliding back into those memories that were burned forever into his mind, never truly letting him rest, and never letting him forget. Not for a single minute.

Even now, in his adult years, he could remember everything, including the day that it started…

* * *

><p>The sun was bright and blazing that early summer morning. Despite the heat, there was a strong and soothing wind blowing through the trees and hills that made up the mountain. All in all it was a beautiful day, and no two appreciated it more than the two young apprentices Hikari and Hiroki of the honorable Kamijou family. They were running and playing around in the grass as nine year olds typically did: jumping and rolling over each other, playing tag, and just enjoying the warmth of the sun on their skin. They would have preferred to have Matsuda with them, but he was older and had already moved out of the apprentice's dorms before them. He had already found a mentor and was too busy training with her to play with them. Neither Hiroki nor his sister had found theirs yet, but both hoped to find one soon.<p>

Not that they minded living in the Dorm; it was full of kids to play with (although the twins mostly preferred each other's company and that of their horses to all others excluding Matsuda), it was far enough away from the rest of the village to provide some privacy. It was only children there with the closest adult living in a cabin near the rest of the village, and they had gotten used to it in the last four years. It was always a village tradition that the children would live with their parents for the first five years of their lives, then move to the dorms for basic training until they were ten. Then they were assigned to a mentor and got to move back in with their parents or began to live with their mentor. Sometimes an apprentice/master match would be made before that time and the master would take over the remainder of the basic training, thus causing the apprentice to move out of the Dorm early.

Matsuda was a year older than them, so naturally he was already out of the Dorms. This made them both sad, but they dealt with it by training harder and playing more to distract themselves. For now they satisfied themselves by playing tag and hide and seek, trying hard to catch one another and win each game. They didn't realize they had gotten farther and farther from the village until Hiroki ran into a clearing and tripped. Hikari was running behind him and didn't see him go down until it was too late. She tripped over him and landed just in front of him. They both looked up and saw that the area wasn't one they knew.

Nothing about this particular clearing was familiar to them, which meant they must have been way farther from the village then they had ever gone before because they had memorized and explored every scrap of land near the village; everything from Coronary Peak to the Falls were places they knew well. But here was somewhere new, and both twins sat up and looked around them to take in the view.

They hadn't been sitting there long when they began to hear quiet laughter coming from the shade of the trees in front of them. The two leapt up from where they'd been sitting and, just as they'd been trained, their hands flew to the hilts of the swords strapped to their sides. The laughter continued as a dark shape came forward as if melting out of the shadows.

Hiroki and Hikari rose a bit out of their battle stances a little, but not by much, as a kid about Matsuda's age was revealed. He had a strange smile on his face, something between a smirk and a grin. His hair was ink-black and rose in soft looking spikes around his head. The strange boy's clothes were all black, but not too dissimilar to their own, only without the katanas. But the thing that really struck them were his eyes: they were such a deep burgundy that they were almost red when the light hit them just so. And for some reason, those eyes were focused solely on Hiroki.

They kept their stance for a few minutes while the strange boy continued to chuckle, eventually Hikari got fed up with it. "Just what are _you_ laughing at?"

The boy kept laughing for a bit and spoke when he finally calmed down.

"You. I'm laughing at you. What are you guys doing with those things for?"

The twins looked at each other, having a hard time understanding his strange accent and what he said.

He tried again, "What's with the swords? You guys paranoid or somthin'?"

The two looked at each other and, silently agreeing that he didn't look dangerous, put their swords up for the moment. They could always bring them back out later. They still didn't trust this boy yet, though. This didn't appear to deter the strange boy though, as he simply walked right up to them, prompting them to take a few steps back in alarm. He kept coming forward until he was right in front of them and bowed a little in greeting, "My name is Akito, what's yours?"

Again he was looking right at Hiroki, but Hikari answered him instead. "I am Kamijou Hikari and that is my brother, Hiroki. Why are you here?" She demanded.

He gave her a look, "Why are _you_?" She huffed, "We were got bored and were playing a game. But I asked you first." The boy, Akito, thought for a minute before answering. "I was fishing." Hiroki looked at him skeptically, there was no pole with him but now that he noticed it the boy _was _holding a small woven basket in his hand that smelled strongly of the supposed dead fish inside. "Where's your fishing pole, then?" He asked.

The boy turned back to him with a big grin on his face, "Don't need one, I use a wooden stick."

Hikari huffed again, "You can't catch a fish with just a stick! It's impossible!"

Akito stuck his tongue out at her. "Sure it is! I do it all the time, see?" He held out the basket.

They argued back and forth for a while, almost completely leaving Hiroki out of it before it was decided that he would _prove _that he could catch fish with just a stick and they let him lead them to a nearby riverbank. He simply took out a small dagger, grabbed a long and sturdy stick, sharpened one end of it, and then stood by the riverbank for a while. Suddenly he plunged the sharp stick deep into the water and, much to their astonishment, it came back up with a fish skewered and flailing on the end of it.

Hiroki was completely impressed, and Akito smiled widely at the look of wonder on his face. Hikari thought it was impressive too, but when she looked at the grin on his face and the blood draining out of the quickly dying fish, she couldn't help a small shudder of apprehension, remembering that two of her older friends and cousins, Oji and Makine, were very fond of the water and everything that lived in it. Despite his excitement, Hiroki felt her apprehension and the shudder and turned to her with concern. As soon as Hiroki looked away from him to tend to his sister, Akito's face fell into a deep scowl of displeasure that the two siblings failed to notice.

It was gone by the time they looked back up at him, and he was back to smiling. He spent the next hour teaching them all the little fishing tricks he knew, and even showed them how to make a fire and cook them. They ate lunch together and talked. The twins had loosened up a bit around him, which wasn't hard to do considering the boy was charming, handsome, and funny. They parted ways with the promise of meeting together at the same time and place the next day.

They kept meeting on and off depending on their schedules for the whole summer, and Akito had almost grown as close to them as Matsuda was. This was a relief since they could hardly see him at all due to all of his extra training; as it would turn out, his mentor was a real enthusiast when it came to teaching and Matsuda wanted to learn as much as he could. It was a perfect match, but it still left him very little time to hang out with the twins, which was especially sad for Hikari. But they spent the time that Matsuda couldn't be there with them with Akito, playing in their secret place in the woods.

As time wore on, Hikari began to notice little things that bothered her. Sometimes Akito would pay just a little too much attention to her brother and would completely ignore her or he would lay his hand casually on him for just a second too long. She didn't know what those little things meant, but it gave her the creeps. In response to this, she began to subconsciously place herself between them when they walked, calling over her brother to look at things when she felt there was too much physical contact between the two, or anything else that she needed to do to draw Hiroki away from him.

For a while she figured it was just her natural instinct as a twin to want to monopolize Hiroki, but she had never felt this way around Matsuda and it confused her. Hiroki didn't notice the odd behavior and was never the one to initiate any of the strange contact, but Hikari was determined that he would be protected either way. Sometimes she would look over at Akito and he would be looking over at her brother with an unreadable look on his face, or sometimes she would catch him looking right back at her with a just barely hidden expression of… what looked like pure hate before turning away like nothing happened. And it frightened her.

But he was still friendly with her, friendlier with her brother, and they always kept going to the woods when they played together. Eventually, it was the final day of summer, right before the Fall Equinox, and Hikari and Hiroki were preparing to leave for the village again. Suddenly, Akito approached Hiroki and called him off to the side. They talked in low tones for a while, and Hikari watched as Hiroki shook his head and Akito formed this longing and sad look on his face like a puppy begging for treats. They talked for a little more and Hiroki kept shaking his head while Akito kept that look of sadness, eventually Hiroki came back to her and they set off for the village again. She turned around to see Akito with his head hung, his hair covering most of his face. But even from where she was she could still see the tightly clenched jaw and fists. She shook her head in confusion and followed her brother. After a while she approached Hiroki about it.

"So, what was all that about?"

"Oh, he wanted me to come see his village and I told him I couldn't."

"Why?"

"He wanted me to go right now. Immediately. And we have to get back to the Dorm before curfew."

She was shocked at this; he'd never even mentioned _belonging_ to a village before this, but what would he need them to go there now for? As if reading her thoughts, and perhaps he had been, he said the rest of it, "He also wanted me to go alone with him. Said he wanted to show me something that you might not like. I wonder what it was…" He grew quiet and so did she, both wondering at their friend's unusual request. But they were both tired and went to sleep soon after arriving back at the dorms. It had been a long day, and neither one of them were prepared for what was about to happen as the sun disappeared from the sky and the light of the full moon took its place to watch over them on that fateful night.

* * *

><p>He had been dreaming, that he knew. Hiroki didn't remember what he had been dreaming of, but he did remember hearing a loud racket. He didn't think much of it at first; the older apprentices had all snuck out to hang out in the towns at the base of the mountain, and in his mostly asleep state he thought that it was just them returning. He only woke up once the screams began.<p>

In a moment, he had woken up and sprung out of bed. The dorm was dark, too dark. Hiroki looked around and saw that all of the windows had been shut up. He tried the one closest to him and it wouldn't budge. Something had sealed it from the outside. He heard another scream and looked out toward where the rest of the beds were. The dorm itself was simply a long, rectangular building with rows of beds. There was only one exit, not counting the windows, and the building currently housed around thirty apprentices; twelve of them were gone still.

His eyes began to adjust to the darkness and he looked around to see all of the other apprentices out of bed and standing around looking at the doorway, which was currently the only source of light. Nearby one of the smaller apprentices, stuck in the wall, was a long dagger. A figure stood, silhouetted in the moonlight, within the doorway. No one knew what to make of this, but two of the remaining apprentices recognized the figure at once.

"Akito?" Hikari and Hiroki called.

The boy stepped slowly into the room, his footsteps creaked along the old wooden floors. As the moonlight came in behind him, the twins noticed something that they hadn't before. Akito held a long and deadly sword in his hand. They looked from it to his face in shock and gasped. Their friend's face was far from what they were familiar with. He had a long, almost face-splitting smile on his face. But what disturbed Hiroki the most was his eyes: they were wide with pupils that were so small that for a minute Hiroki thought that Akito had no pupils at all. Something really bothered Hiroki about those eyes, but he brushed that thought aside for now.

Those same eyes landed on Hiroki and stayed there and, if Hiroki were completely honest with himself, it sent deep bolts of fear down his spine.

"Hiroki…" He said in a low voice.

Hikari, feeling her brother's unease, stepped between them, "Why are you here, Akito? We thought you went home."

As soon as his gaze landed on Hikari, Akito's face contorted into a mocking smile. "I did. They sent me back here."

The twins couldn't understand what was going on. Why would his village send him here at this hour? It had to have been somewhere between one and two in the morning, at least. Despite his unease, Hiroki wasn't quite ready to doubt his friend's character. "So, they kicked you out? Why would they do that?"

This Akito found extremely hilarious. He began laughing long and hard, the sound of it bouncing harshly off the walls of the cabin until the younger apprentices huddled in the back for comfort. Seeing the effect it was having on the others, Hiroki just couldn't take it anymore.

"Just what is so funny?!" He snapped.

Akito slowed his laughter until it was only a chuckle. "They didn't kick me out. I'm exactly where they want me to be, where they always intended for me to be." He began to slowly approach from the far end of the cabin.

"In fact, that is why I'm on this mountain at all! I had to find where the village kept its apprentices. At least, that's what they told me to do. My family was very specific about that. 'Find it; do whatever it takes, but you'd better find it.' Pretty clear, huh?"

"Why would they want you to do that? What's the point?" Said Hikari as he came closer.

Akito shrugged and grinned widely at her. "To kill you, of course."

There was a stony silence for a moment as Hiroki and Hikari stared at their friend in horror, all movement in the cabin stilled.

He couldn't be serious could he? The sword at his side said he very well could. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Hiroki was expecting Akito to start laughing, a "Gotcha!" at the tip of his tongue. But there was absolutely nothing in Akito's face that showed he was joking. Akito began approaching again, breaking the spell and causing the two twins to slowly back up towards their beds.

Then a chilling thought struck Hiroki: the dorms were too far away from the other houses. While it was good for the apprentices' privacy, it also meant that they were too far away to call out for help. No one would hear their screams. And for another thing, as he turned to quickly look at the other apprentices behind him, he also realized that he and his sister were the oldest ones here aside from Akito. The two glanced to each other, a plan slowly forming between them. But for now they had to keep Akito talking.

"Why do you want to kill us?" He asked as calmly as possible while still backing up slowly. He was praying to every deity he knew that Akito wouldn't catch on to what they were doing.

Akito shrugged and looked almost hurt by Hiroki's cold tone.

"I didn't want to kill anyone at first. It seemed like a lot of work, and there was all sorts of possibilities for failure. I could get caught, get killed, get injured, not to mention the punishment that I would get if I tried to go home after failing to complete my mission. It _is _a rather important one, after all."

"Why do they want you to do this? What's in it for them?"

Akito paused to think this over, cocking his head gently to the side in thought before smiling. "Revenge." He then nodded like he was warming up to the idea, "Yeah, revenge. And it's all a part of their strategy. They want me to kill everyone in this building so that Bluestar Village will have less warriors than mine later on in life, making it an easier target. You see, my village was made fairly recently. Just a couple decades ago, really. And it was created by the same outlaws, criminals, and bandits that Bluestar Village had cast off because they were 'dangerous'," he rolled his eyes and drew quotation marks in the air with his free hand. "And the village elders thought that it would be great if all of Bluestar's apprentices were murdered by one of our own. So, here I am!" Akito was laughing now.

"I still didn't want to do it, though. So they sent me on a spying mission first, apparently hoping I'd see just how great you guys have it up here and decide to kill you all out of spite or envy, not that it worked. I was going to just go fishing and go home, since there was no way for them to tell if I really did it or not, but then I got to meet the two of _you_."

He just kept coming, slowly, ever so slowly gaining ground on them. After all, the only door was behind him, and all of the children were running out of room to back up into. Hiroki and Hikari had almost reached their beds by now.

"I was really shocked to run into you guys so far outside of your village. I kinda thought that the adults of your village coddled you close to the others in case you scraped your knees or something. But then I figured, why not? So I decided to get some information out of you and then maybe kill you out there. But while we were talking, I was thinking things over. If I _did_ kill you, then people would come looking for you and might just realize that someone was out here killing off apprentices. Then they would come after me to kill me too, and I couldn't have that! Then I realized something else." He began smiling at Hiroki alone, not unlike the way he was smiling at him that first day they met.

"I realized that, for some reason, I really _really_ liked you. You were fun to be around, kind of pretty-" Hiroki sputtered indignantly, "and just talking to you made me happy. I couldn't understand it." His glance slid to Hikari and his face formed a sneer, "_She _looked almost exactly like you, but I didn't feel anything for her. Well, I did feel _something_: it was kind of like a deep annoyance. I don't like people in general, but for some reason I seem to dislike her more than I do other people. I don't find _her_ pretty, I don't like talking to _her_, and every time she would start to take your attention away from me I wanted to slap her across the face. I hadn't really felt like _that_ before, either." He laughed, then turned his attention back to Hiroki.

"When I got back I told them what I'd learned, but that I still didn't want to do it. Then the village elders had a meeting to see what they could do to _get _me to do it, and they found it. Honestly, I probably would never have agreed if it wasn't for that one reward they promised me."

Hiroki suddenly felt the sharp edge of his bedframe digging into his legs. He looked over and saw that Hikari had reached hers as well. Her bed was directly across the room from his, so she still had some space between herself and Akito. But Akito was getting closer and closer to Hiroki with every step. He saw her hand sneak under the mattress before he tore his eyes away to look at those Akito's, which still held something strange within their gaze. His own hand, much slower since he held the majority of Akito's attention, slid under his own mattress behind his back.

'It's almost time… not yet,' He kept chanting in his head as Akito began closing in. He had to keep him distracted!

"S-so, what did they offer you? To kill us, I mean?"

This caused his former friend to stop in his tracks and smile brightly at Hiroki.

"You."

The whole room grew dead silent. Hikari was looking at who she thought was her friend with complete shock and horror, but Hiroki didn't see it. He was transfixed by the look on Akito's face, his own horror creeping in on him from all sides. There was a sort of roaring in his ears and he felt a little dizzy. Hiroki's mind shut down and was unable to process anything except the boy in front of him.

"What… what do you... mean?"

"Exactly what I said. They told me that if I did well and killed all of the brats here that I could take one home as a trophy, alive, as my own personal slave. And I want you. It'll be great! I'll never have to share you with anyone else again, you will come and live with me, and since you belong to me no one can take you away." He flicked the sword a little, causing it to glint from what little light there was in the room. "I won't let them."

Seeing the look on Hiroki's face caused Akito to deflate a little in concern. "What's wrong? Don't you want to be with me? I like you so much! I think I might even love you! I would do everything you need, like protect you, get stuff for you, play with you, anything you need! Aren't you happy, Hiroki?"

Not seeing any change in Hiroki's horrified expression, Akito looked around. His face brightened and he backed away from Hiroki, much to the younger boy's relief. Which was short lived.

"I know! You must be afraid I'm gonna hurt you since I'm about to kill them! Well, I'm not; I would never intentionally hurt you. Maybe you just need time to get used to the idea. Once I kill Hikari and the rest of these twerps I'll take you to your new home. I know that it might be a little much to take in, but I'm sure you'll see things my way soon."

But Hiroki wasn't paying attention anymore; he had slipped even further into shock at what he was hearing. All of this time his friend had been plotting to literally stab them in the backs, but not him? Why not him? Because he loved him? He would happily kill all of the people Hiroki knew and loved as family and friends, including his own twin sister, just so that he could keep Hiroki locked away somewhere to himself? The thought alone was almost enough for Hiroki to be violently sick on the floor. That's when he realized what it was he saw in Akito's eyes: pure insanity. Akito was insane.

Not noticing this, Akito tried to move forward towards the others only to find his way blocked. Hiroki was brought out of his stupor by the sound of swords clashing together. He snapped his head up to see that Hikari had moved to intercept Akito with pure fire in her eyes.

So that is what it was the whole time... He had betrayed them. Had _always_ meant to betray them. All of those strange looks. Everything made so much more sense now. At first she was hurt, but then determination slowly took its place as she saw how terrified the younger children were and the look on her brother's face as he learned the horrible truth. And now Akito not only wanted to take away her life and her friends' lives, he wanted to take Hiroki away to his own personal hell. Well, _she wouldn't LET HIM!_

Pulling her katana out from under her mattress, she unsheathed it and in one full swing had begun the lethal exchange with her now-enemy. He blocked the oncoming blade and used the momentum to push himself backwards to get better footing.

Brought out of his trance, Hiroki reached back under his futon and pulled out his own sword with a growl. His infamous anger was coming back and there was no way in _hell _he was going to just sit there and become some reward for slaughter. And with a ferocity that he never knew he had, he leapt into the fray just in time to block a swipe aimed for his sister's head.

Akito wasn't particularly surprised when Hiroki began to fight. It just wasn't in his nature to accept change very easily. He knew that after a while of living with him, Hiroki would get used to him again and they could be together. Sure he'd be upset with him at first, but he would make it up to him so that he could be forgiven. But for now, he just needed to be certain not to seriously hurt Hiroki while he dealt with the others. Otherwise he would be in too much pain for the journey to his new home.

They went back and forth, knocking aside beds and tables as they went. Various items became knocked off of their perches and smashed to the ground as the three fighters darted around each other. Between the two of them, Hiroki and Hikari were evenly matched against Akito's age and height advantage. Hiroki found himself in a mostly defensive position. Akito's focus was mainly on his sister, and it felt like he was just attacking Hiroki to get him out of the way of his real target. This pricked at his pride and caused Hiroki to attack even more fiercely. Every so often he would glance at the others to check on their condition before his focus would be dragged back to the fight at hand. He couldn't afford to be distracted. Akito was definitely holding back while fighting Hiroki, but he was flat out trying to kill Hikari.

The other apprentices kept themselves huddled in the back of the cabin, some of the older ones keeping guard in front of their kouhei's. They weren't old enough to be of much use in the actual fight, but they could possibly slow Akito down long enough for the others to get away. If it came down to that. But they watched in horror and wariness as the fight went on, preparing for anything that might happen.

It went on for what seemed like forever, but eventually they could feel the end of it all coming near. The three former friends were covered in cuts and bruises, blood dripping down from both their bodies and swords. All of them were panting harshly, Akito still focused intently on Hikari with venomous eyes. So far none of the other children had been hurt, but it could still end in either parties favor. Even two against one, they were too evenly matched.

He couldn't believe it! He was just supposed to have killed the brats and be well on his way home with Hiroki by now! Akito glared at Hikari with all the hatred he could muster. It was her fault, he was sure. Why else would Hiroki be so violent towards him? She must have done something when he wasn't looking, must have said something to him… He would make her pay. With this thought in mind, Akito decided enough was enough. He was determined that Hikari was going to die right that moment, the rest of the world be hung. No one would keep him from his Hiroki. It was time to end this.

Putting all of his effort into it, he put all the force he could manage into one final strike. Pushing forward into a lunge, he smirked when he saw Hikari's eyes widen in fear as she realized there was no way she could block him in time. She clenched her eyes shut, preparing for the blow…

Hiroki saw what was about to happen from a few feet away. Knew what Akito was about to do. Hikari would never be able to dodge in time. His body acted before his mind had a chance to catch up, everything feeling like it was slow motion and his body was moving through water. He pushed Hikari out of the way with his shoulder, landing in the place where she once was and bringing his own sword up in a wide slash. Akito's own eyes widened in shock as Hiroki's sword struck him across the chest, sinking deep into his flesh and the force of it propelling him backward and knocking him out when he hit the floor... but not before his own sword pushed completely through Hiroki's chest, very close to where his heart was.

As Akito lay motionless on the floor, Hiroki staggered back. The blade was still imbedded deeply into his body, and Hiroki had begun to cough up blood as he whimpered in pain. He hurt so bad that he couldn't even scream due to how his throat was locked tight. Through the pain he could only catch on to a few of the scattered thoughts that managed to leak through the pain. His main thought was about how much it hurt and how he was only nine, he wasn't supposed to feel this much pain when he was only nine. The only other thought he had, childish as it was, was about how he was scared and wanted his sister.

Hikari looked up from where she had fallen just in time to see the aftermath of what her brother had done.

"HIROKI!"

She jumped up and caught him just as he was beginning to fall. She held him close and tried to get his attention, but his eyes were unfocused and he was having a hard time breathing through the blood. She looked over to Akito and saw that he was alive, just unconscious. Hikari then turned to the other apprentices.

"Quick! Someone help, he's hurt!"

A few of the braver apprentices immediately rushed over and helped her to pull the sword out of Hiroki and put him gently on her bed. They sent one of the apprentices to run to the village to get help while the others stayed behind. Most of the apprentices set about restraining Akito as much as they could. They searched him for any more weapons, tied his feet and legs together, tied his hands together tightly behind his back, pulled his legs up behind him to tie his feet and hands together with a short bit of cloth, and then used whatever else they could find to tie him to a bed in the farthest corner they could find from both the door and the bed that held Hiroki.

Those who weren't helping with the new prisoner were with Hiroki trying to stop or slow the bleeding, using strips of sheets as bandages. But it wasn't working. They had even tried to have one of the heavier apprentices sit on his chest in an attempt to put pressure on the wound, but it just wasn't helping. Hiroki was fading in and out of consciousness, holding tightly to his sister's hand for whatever comfort he could get. She cried as she held on to him just as tightly, feeling it was all her fault for not realizing what kind of person Akito was sooner. Hikari prayed that the messenger they sent would get there soon, she could feel Hiroki getting colder as the minutes drew on…

That night, everyone in the village had been awoken by the desperate and frantic screams of an apprentice. He had been taken directly to the village head and Medicine Man had been sent for. It had taken some time, but they eventually got the child calm enough to tell them what happened. When they heard what was happening, they wasted no time and rushed over to the building immediately, Medicine Man and his kit in the lead. Matsuda had also gone with them, concerned about what was happening where his friends were. As they neared it, they heard a sound that sent cold shivers up their spine. It was dead silent except for the sound of a single girl's wails of agony.

This made them go even faster until they finally made it into the Apprentice's Dorm. Four of the young apprentices were standing by a bed that had what they suspected to be the culprit bound tightly with their swords drawn, but most of them were surrounding another bed closer to the door where they stood. All of them (except the 'guards') had their heads bowed with a look of deep sadness and pain on all of their faces. Those who were standing by the prisoner had looks of rage and hatred directed at the person they watched, sword hands shaking with repressed emotion. Village Head Kouta and Medicine Man pushed their way through to the front of the larger group and froze. Hikari half lay on the bed, her cries being the one's they heard, clutching desperately to the hand of the person laying on the bed. They looked closer and saw that she was holding her brothers hand-

-And he wasn't moving.

Immediately the two older men rushed toward the bed. Kouta grabbed a hold of his granddaughter and tried to gently move her away. This caused her to go into hysterics, desperately fighting to not be removed from her brother's side. She fought his hold, chanting "NO! NO! NO!" over and over again. While he dealt with her, Medicine Man placed his hand on Hiroki's neck. It was cold and there was no pulse. He checked for other signs, and learned from them that little Hiroki had been dead for about ten minutes now.

Hikari knew this. She felt it the exact moment that Hiroki died. But she didn't want to leave him, despite how her grandfather tried to pull her away, she couldn't stand the thought of leaving her brother alone on the bed like that. But her grandfather didn't try to make her leave the room, only took her to a corner and tried to calm her down.

Matsuda then made his own way to the front and was horrified at what he found. One of his two best friends was in great pain and the other one was dead on the bed in front of him. After a few seconds, his vision began to blur with his own unshed tears and he couldn't stand to look at his poor friend anymore. So instead, he went over to the only one he was still able to help and tried to help her grandfather to calm her down. He wrapped her up in a hug and let her cry into his shoulder as he tried to keep his own pain at bay for her sake. While she was thinking about how it must be her fault for not realizing Akito's true nature, Matsuda was thinking about how it must be his fault since he wasn't there for his two best friends when they needed him the most. He felt that even if he was a year older than them, they shouldn't have been left to fight for their lives by themselves. He should have been there to help them, and now Hiroki was dead because of it. So he did the only thing he could do, try to comfort the only one of his two best friends he had left.

While he did that, Medicine Man went around and talked to the other children as Warriors dragged the unconscious murderer away to be locked in the dungeon. From what he heard, Hiroki had died a hero's death to save the other apprentices when he was the only one that was going to be spared. He looked over to the body of the young man with pride in his eyes. That took courage, and a lot of it.

He slipped into his thoughts, tuning the world out as he turned the problem in his head. He needed to think quickly or the opportunity would pass. He looked around and saw that some of the other warriors were about to cover Hiroki's body and move it to the burial ground. He rushed over to stop them, an idea already forming in his head. After ensuring they would do nothing to it without his say-so, he reached into his bag and pulled out a vial of purple liquid.

Before anything else could be done, he needed to do this. He walked over to where his Village Head and the two apprentices were sitting and gave the bottle to Hikari with a simple order to drink. She stared at him blankly for a moment before the order made it through her grief. When it did, she did as she was told, too tired and pain stricken to argue. 'Good,' the masked man thought to himself, 'That will keep her from being dragged into death by her link with her twin. Now I just have the one to deal with.' He looked over with determination and newfound respect at the body of the little nine year old and began giving his orders.

Kouta, despite the great sadness and anger at losing his only grandson, noticed immediately that things were now being done and that he had no knowledge of it. He approached Medicine Man.

"What's happening? Why isn't Hiroki being prepared for burial?"

Medicine Man did not look up from his task, which was checking through his bag to ensure he had the proper materials needed for what was to come. When he spoke, it was calm and with perfect clarity, the seriousness of the situation subduing his childish tendencies for the moment.

"He will not be buried. Hiroki needs to be prepared for something else."

Satisfied with the contents of his bag, he snapped it closed and followed the warriors who were carrying Hiroki's body out on a stretcher. The remaining warriors were busy escorting the apprentices back to the village for the night, as it would be impossible for them to remain where they were. Hikari and Matsuda hadn't gone with them, and instead tried to follow her brother. When they saw the exchange between Medicine Man and Kouta, she stopped and went over to them.

"Where are they taking Hiroki, Grandfather?"

He looked down at her in confusion, "What do you mean? Aren't they taking him back to the village?"

She shook her head as Matsuda also approached. "No, they're going down the road into the woods. Why? What are they going to do with Hiroki?!" She was starting to break down again, the stress of the situation and not knowing what was going to happen was getting to her. Matsuda wrapped her back up into his arms as she began to shake.

Kouta looked over at Medicine Man. He would have growled and really given the man some painful memories if he didn't already know what the man was like. And the man always did things the things he did for a very, _very_ good reason. That was pretty much the _only_ thing keeping his fist from flying into a mask at that moment. But if he didn't have a good reason for this, Kouta would personally ensure that there would be hell to pay. For now, he would give the man the benefit of the doubt.

"That's a good question. Where _are _they taking my grandson?" He asked him.

Medicine Man looked between the grandfather and granddaughter before kneeling down to be at Hikari's eye level. He made her look him in the eyes and made absolutely sure he had her full attention.

"We're going to bring him back."

* * *

><p>They had needed to move quickly, while the full moon was still out. Medicine Man saw to all the preparations himself, making sure that everything was just so. The warriors who brought Hiroki's body to the site had been dismissed, the only ones allowed to be there were Medicine Man, Kouta, Matsuda, Hikari,… and Hiroki. Kouta objected to the two apprentices being there, but Medicine Man said that having his twin there could help draw Hiroki back. Matsuda was allowed to stay because he was the only source of comfort Hikari had at the moment. Other than that, no one else was allowed to see what was about to happen. This was an extremely sacred ritual and only a small number were allowed to witness it.<p>

Hiroki's body had been patched up as best they could and prepared with the special herbs that Medicine Man had collected over the years. They stood at the edge of a large pond in the middle of the woods. Almost directly above it hung the full moon. This area was so secluded that Medicine Man needed to personally guide the group to it so that they could take Hiroki's body there. He had discovered it some decades ago and the certain… qualities it possessed. He decided that now would be the best time to use it.

He looked down at Hiroki's body laying at his grandfather's feet, now stripped naked in nothing but a white cloth to give any sense of decency. All of his wounds were laid bare in the pale moonlight, the wind gently caressing his face and running through his hair. His face looked peaceful and relaxed, as if he was only asleep. But no breath came from his body, and no warmth from the summer night was able to reach him where he was. He looked back up at the moon. That would soon change. It was almost time.

He looked around at the pond. All those present were stationed at different parts of the pond, surrounding it. All eyes were on him, but not a sound was heard aside from the wind gently rustling around them. He picked up a small hand drum and mallet laying at his own feet and began to hit it in a soft and steady rhythm, nodding to Kouta who bent and picked up the still body at his feet. Medicine Man began to chant lowly under his breath in the language that he had learned so long ago, rarely heard now. Kouta began to walk with the body into the water before stopping and placing the body in and backing out back to the shore as Medicine Man continued chanting.

The body slid down below the surface of the water, floating until it was at the very center of the pond, resting at the very bottom. The moon drifted to the center of the sky, directly above Hiroki's body and perfectly placed above the water. The whole pond began to slowly glow white, the water brightening until it hurt to see. Everyone began shielding their eyes, forced to look away from the small figure at the bottom. Even Medicine Man had to look away, but what happened next would be completely up to Hiroki. There was nothing else they could do.

* * *

><p>Hiroki woke up to what felt like complete numbness. Well, not really woke up: it felt more like he came into awareness. Into being. It was hard to describe. Just that one minute he was… somewhere and the next he was here. There was no feeling of warmth or of coolness around him, no temperature whatsoever. But there should be one, shouldn't there? It was summer after all… As his memory began to return, his eyes snapped open. Or had they always been open?<p>

Akito had betrayed him and his sister! The last thing he remembered was being in a lot of pain and then having that pain be slowly replaced with cold… it was so cold…

He was dead… wasn't he? He looked around, but didn't recognize where he was. The area he was in was surrounded by black in all directions. He sat up and looked down at the ground he was sitting on only to find that it wasn't made of any material he recognized. It had no discernable texture and the only way he could describe it was… white. It was just a flat white thing he was sitting on. He looked further and found that it was a sort of large _round_ white thing he was sitting on. It extended into a circle, the center of which he was laying on, and expanded outwards only to fade away at the edges into the blackness as solid as walls.

Seeing nothing else, he decided to look down at his bedclothes, the same ones he had fought Akito in, and was shocked to find there wasn't a single tear in sight. Looking inside he wasn't able to see any of the wounds he distinctly remembered getting before coming here. This simply wasn't possible. He _felt _the pain of those wounds, he knew he did! It couldn't have been a dream, and even if it was, where was he now? He sat there staring at his lap for a while before he determined that he should see where the blackness led to if it led to anywhere.

He got up to do just that, but when he looked up he was shocked to see three doors lined up beside each other that had _not_ been there before. He whipped around and saw that there was a single door behind him which hadn't been there before either. Feeling more than a little freaked out with this turn of events, he debated what to do. Eventually he came to the conclusion that he'd rather something bad happen than to be stuck someplace and have nothing happen _at all_.

He began by trying the door that appeared behind him since it was somewhat isolated from the other three. When he looked closer, it was a very pale shade of dark gray. To his surprise, it was locked, and no matter what he did (kicked it, hammered on it, pushed, pulled, etc.) nothing happened. Eventually he gave up on that door and moved on to the one to the right of it, which was the leftmost one in the small group that had appeared in front of him.

This one appeared to be a white color, and was cool to the touch. Not cold, but still too chilly to be pleasant. He didn't expect anything different from the last one, so he was mildly surprised when the doorknob turned easily in his hand. What he really wasn't expecting was that when it opened, the inside looked like it was coated in white. He looked even closer and could see what looked like people sitting in a group on the ground. He almost didn't see them at first because they were also wearing white.

They weren't doing anything at all, just… sitting there. Then he saw something that looked like a human statue with wings float by. It wasn't flying, even though it had wings, but it looked like it was being dragged through the air by an invisible string, not moving a single muscle. The thing looked very beautiful, but the way it moved without moving unnerved the small boy. Not to mention that while beautiful, the face held no expression. It was almost like it was _trying_ to look human but was failing. He looked around from the safety of the doorway and saw that more creatures like the one he saw were circling around the small huddles of people. He didn't understand what was going on, but saw something very strange. One of the people sitting on the ground stood up and tried to move away from the group she was with. She didn't get very far before one of the winged creatures went over to her and, with very little effort, turned the woman around and sat her back down with her previous group. The woman tried doing this a couple times with the same result before finally giving up and staying where she was put.

Hiroki watched all of this with great confusion. Why were those people being made to sit together like that? Why weren't they doing anything? What were those things flying around? He was jerked out of his thoughts as one of the flying things noticed him and began that strange movement toward him. It began to hold out its hand to take a hold of him like it did that woman in what could possibly be described as an inviting gesture. As it neared him, Hiroki backed out of the doorway quickly and closed the door, trying to block it with his body. Whatever was going on down there, he didn't think he wanted any part of it.

After a while of nothing happening, Hiroki deemed it safe to move away since it didn't look like that thing was trying to open the door. With a wary glance, he cracked the door open again and looked inside only to instantly slam it shut again with a gasp. The thing… had been right at the door, still holding out its hand to grab a hold of him.

Hiroki was certain he would not try to open _that _door again.

Much more wary this time, he went over to the door farthest away from the white one and found that it was a very washed out shade of red, pink almost. He approached it like you would a wild animal, and slowly reached out his hand to the doorknob. He immediately jumped back, screaming, once his skin touched it. The handle was burning hot and as soon as he touched it he could hear horrible screams of agony and fear coming from behind the door. Now that he was far away from it, the screams vanished, but the sound of them still rung in his head. It was the worst thing he had ever heard, and he hoped to NEVER hear anything like that again. Never again in his life! He didn't know what was behind that door, and he didn't _want_ to know. He absolutely refused to touch that doorknob again either.

He looked down at where the knob had burned him and was more than a little shocked to see that there wasn't any damage at all to his skin. It had hurt very badly, so he had been sure he was burned. But he wasn't. By this point, the fact that nothing was making sense was _really _starting to tick him off.

So he decided to stand back and review what he knew. The door at his back refused to open (and at this point he wasn't sure he wanted it to), the door to his left opened up to some freaky world were people sat in huddled groups and were kept there by some sort of statue things, the one on his right burned him and had… something… really bad happening behind it. The one in front of him is the only one he hadn't tried yet, but at this point he wasn't sure if he was going to.

Unfortunately, he was soon faced with the same problem that had gotten him to trying the doors in the first place. He also had no way of telling time in this strange place so he could have been sitting there staring at those doors for what could have been minutes or just as easily have been hours. If he didn't do something soon, he was going to go mad.

Eventually enough was enough. Hiroki was going to open that door, but first he was going to be smart about it. He slowly approached it, taking note of its minty green color and reaching out to touch the doorknob before jumping away. Nothing happened. He approached it again and this time grabbed hold of the handle. The knob felt pleasantly warm in his hand. He put his ear up against it, but only hear the faintest of rustling sounds.

He built up his courage and opened the door a little crack to look inside. He was greeted with a very pleasant breeze ruffling his hair around his head. Feeling a little more confident, he opened the door all the way, revealing… a trail?

It looked just like a forest trail back home on Bluestar Mountain. There was a dirt path on the ground surrounded on all sides with a beautiful canopy of leaves, casting the path into soothing shade. There was luscious green grass on either side of the path, and the sound of living creatures was all around. It was all very pleasant, nothing like the other doors. The area inside the white door was unpleasantly cool and everything felt so very still and quiet; the very air seemed to stay absolutely still. The red door was burning hot and the gray door he couldn't even open! But this one seemed to be a lot more welcoming and natural than the other doors. He tried looking down the path to see where it might lead to, but it just seemed to go on and on before disappearing through the trees. But… somehow… he got the feeling that there was something truly amazing at the end of it. Something that well worth traveling down that path to find.

As he watched on in awe, he was brought out of his thoughts when he saw something flutter down and land on the pathway in front of him. He looked down and saw a red-tailed hawk standing on the pathway, looking right back him. He expected it to turn around and fly away after seeing him, but it didn't. This confused Hiroki, who didn't know why it was there. But the creature seemed to have a strange intelligence behind its gaze. It called to him, then looked back over its own shoulder to where the path led. Then it looked back at him, called again, and took off to land in the branches of a nearby tree, getting out of the way of the path, but was still looking at him.

It's strange, but to Hiroki it felt like it was inviting him to go down the pathway, like that statue-like thing did. But unlike it, he kind of felt the urge to go, to find out where it leads. He took a step back into the 'room' he had previously woken up in and looked around. There wasn't much reason to stay there, the only thing he could see that the room did was provide a place for the doors to appear. This door was the most pleasant one he'd encountered, but he got the feeling that if he went through any of these doors there would be no coming back out. He had no clue why he felt that way, but he did. He looked back into the green doorway and the hawk was still standing there looking at him. When it noticed him looking, it flapped its wings once and looked back down the pathway.

Hiroki was still a little hesitant, but as he got closer a strong and warm wind blew out of the door and surrounded him. It wasn't strong enough to knock him down, but it felt really good for some reason. Like it could just pick him up and carry him away with it. He was once again broken out of his thoughts as the hawk called again and flapped some to hover over its branch. Hiroki wondered if that is what it felt like to be a bird. To be able to fly and be carried off by the wind… wouldn't that be amazing? Hiroki smiled a little at the thought.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad going through this door? He thought it was far more preferable to the other ones. And with that he made his choice.

But as he began to set foot into the green doorway, he heard a door creak open behind him. Setting his foot back into the room, he turned and saw the door that had been locked behind him was now swung completely open.

Inside it was completely dark, from what he could see, and that bothered him. He couldn't see _anything_ beyond the doorway. He didn't want to, but he got closer to it anyway. When he got to the doorway, he thought he heard voices. They were very indistinct at first but became clearer and clearer to longer he listened. They were… calling his name? At this he listened even harder, closing his eyes so he could concentrate better.

In time, he could put each voice to a name and a face.

His grandfather… his sister… Matsuda… Medicine Man…

All of them were calling his name, as if he was lost and they were trying to find him…

Was he lost?

He looked back at the doorway he had been about to go through, and walked back over to it, keeping an eye on the gray door in case it decided to shut again. The hawk was still there, and Hiroki had this strange urge to talk. So, talk he did.

"I can hear my family calling, its coming from that door over there," he told it. "Is it really them?" He felt kind of stupid for asking this to a _bird_ of all things; at least, he did until it _nodded_. He was slightly taken aback by this, but since when did ANYTHING here make sense? Hiroki figured he'd just roll with it.

"So they're through that door, and I'm here. Does that mean I'm dead?" Another nod.

"So through that door… is life? My old life?" Nod.

"And that means it's safe to go through there?" At this the hawk shook its head. Hiroki was confused until he suddenly realized his mistake and facepalmed. If the living world was _safe_ then how did he end up here in the first place? He peaked through his fingers at the forest path ahead of him and looked back to the bird almost shyly.

"Is… is _this_ path safe?" The bird nodded and flew from its branch to land back on the path like it did when it first arrived.

He heard the soft calling of his family behind him again, and half turned to look.

"This path is safe, but I won't see my family for a long time if I go here, will I?" It was a rhetorical question, but when he looked back the bird nodded anyway.

Hiroki bit his lip, thinking things over in his head. "What should I do?" He looked over at the small creature, but it wasn't doing anything. It stared right back at him, not gesturing in any direction.

"It's my choice? You can't help me?" Finally the bird nodded.

Hiroki sighed and sat down on the ground just in the doorway, facing the hawk. "If I go back… will I ever return here again? Will I ever have the chance to come back here if I choose to go home?" The hawk called and nodded its head. Hiroki nodded back to it, and just sat there a moment enjoying the warm breeze.

If he continued forward, he was sure that he'd never have to worry about being hurt ever again. The agony of his impalement, while not physically there anymore, was still fresh in his mind and he gave a visible shudder at the memory. But sitting here, leaning a little on the doorway and starring off down the way surrounded by a gentle breeze, warm air, and the sound of leaves rustling, he felt more at peace than he could ever remember. He closed his eyes to savor the moment, and the sound of his family calling out to him grew just a little bit louder.

He didn't want to be hurt again, but… he would miss his family if he left. All of his friends, all of his family, everyone. Besides, there was so much he still hadn't done. He was only nine years old, was he really okay leaving things as they are? He opened his eyes again, his mind set.

He then got up, thanked the hawk (feeling a little out of his mind for doing so) and then ran straight through the gray doorway not once looking back. If he had, he would have seen the green door gently swing closed as the hawk took to the air once again, back to resume its job of watching over a certain brunette haired boy that was about to wake back up **(1)**, revealing a long stretch of silver feathers lining its back.

* * *

><p>The light faded from the water of the pond, and from the boy residing within it. The body floated to the surface and the waves made by the spell carried it onto the shore. All of the people present rushed over to where it washed up, eager to see if it had worked. Kouta got there first and skidded to a stop, kneeling. He pressed his fingers frantically to Hiroki's throat, laughing giddily when he felt warmth and movement under the skin. With a shout of happiness, he hugged his now <em>living<em> grandson to him in a massive bear hug. He couldn't be happier as the soft puffs of warm breath tickled the hairs at the back of his neck.

He held the boy bridal style and tilted him outwards to show the people clustered around him. Hiroki's eyes were still gently shut, but there was now movement behind them. The wounds that had covered his body were now nearly invisible scars, _including_ the one that had claimed his life. Hiroki was now completely healed and sleeping, no longer dead.

Hikari rushed over to him and hugged her twin close, crying again. Matsuda went over and wrapped _both_ twins into his own embrace. Medicine Man watched on, smiling, letting them have their moment before deciding to intervene. He walked over and knocked both young apprentices across the head.

"Ow!"

"Hey!"

He waged a finger at them, back to his childish self now that the danger had passed. "No! You squishy him! He no breathe good if you squishy him!"

_THAT _caused both children to immediately back off. Hikari winced a little as the sudden movement pulled on some of her wounds. Seeing this, he gestured over to his medical bag and they went over to it so that he could fix her up.

Not daring to put his grandson down just yet, Kouta walked over to them with Hiroki still sleeping in his arms.

"I can't thank you enough. You've given me back my grandchild; there's no possible way for me to repay you, but I will do my best."

Medicine Man looked over to the still sleeping Hiroki. "Hiro be hero. No one forget," he nodded to himself as he went back to patching up the other twin.

Hikari looked over with mild disbelief in her eyes. He was back. Hiroki was fine. Alive. She now had another chance to protect him, she would make sure that nothing like this ever happened again. Her face darkened, remembering who was truly responsible for all this pain.

"Grandfather?"

He looked up from where he, too, was staring at Hiroki with disbelief. "Yes?"

"What will happen to Akito?"

That got everyone's attention, as they all waited for a reply. Kouta thought about it for a moment, looking at Hiroki and then looking around him at the people present.

"You mean the boy who killed Hiroki?"

She nodded, now realizing that in all the time they knew Akito they had never thought to tell their grandfather, or anyone else for that matter, about him. Every time they were asked where they were, they would simply say they were off playing. They never meant to keep Akito a secret, but they just never thought to tell others about him. They had told Matsuda, but he hadn't thought to tell anyone either. She felt her heart drop into her stomach when she realized that they had basically set themselves up for the surprise attack. Finding a stranger on the mountain that they didn't know anything about… why hadn't they thought to report it? Because it was a child like them? She had been a fool, and Hiroki had paid the ultimate price for her stupidity. 'Never again,' she silently promised the unconscious boy in her grandfather's arms.

Meanwhile, her grandfather was still thinking. He grunted to regain Hikari's attention.

"Tell me about him. About everything. Start from the beginning."

* * *

><p>Hikari looked out of the jeep and growled to herself as she remembered what had been decided about the traitor. Because he was an apprentice of another village and they couldn't prove that he was sent there on the other village's orders, they weren't able to sentence Akito to death. If they killed him, it would have started a war between the two villages. The bloodshed would have gotten the attention of outside forces who would force their way into the whole business. They couldn't forget that while things may have stayed the same on the mountain for centuries, things in the outside world had changed. The only thing they were able to do was lock him up in the dungeon for the rest of his life for murder. Hell, the bastard was alive even now.<p>

To this day, Akito was the only permanent resident of the dungeons. He's always kept under close supervision and well-guarded. Even though he hasn't seen sunlight in years, the boy- now man- was extremely dangerous and just as insane as he was that day he had attacked the Nursery. After he woke up, Akito was immediately taken to stand trial in front of the whole village. During questioning the only response they could get out him was shouts of how Hiroki now belonged to him, was now his property, and how he would kill them all and take what was his.

Hikari had gone to see the trial and smiled in sadistic glee at the look of despair on his face when they told him that he, Akito, had killed Hiroki with his own sword. That was the first time the whole trial that Akito actually got quiet. The murderer looked like he was about to break down and cry right there in the court room, but no one spared him an ounce of pity. They knew he wasn't sorry for what he tried to do, just that the one person he wanted was killed in his attempt.

Medicine Man was then called up to tell the rest of the village what happened after Akito had been knocked out, including the fact that Hiroki had died saving all of their children and that he had managed to resurrect him using an old ceremony from the ancient times, taught to him by one of the Original Masters (though he wouldn't say which one).

This snapped Akito out of his depression and he immediately demanded to see Hiroki. This, of course, was denied him. He was then informed that he would never see either of the twins again, or anything else besides the contents of his cell. At the end of the trial, they deemed him guilty of murder (though Hiroki was brought back to life, which was beside the point) and dragged him away screaming that he would break free and get his Hiroki back. According to the guards, Akito still believed he would do that one day. Hikari didn't believe him, but she was going to be well prepared for if he did.

She looked over at her brother who was still staring ahead with a faraway look in his eyes. That terrible night had left a deep scar on all of them. Especially Hiroki. When he finally woke up, he had been given a hero's welcome. Everyone in the village has a deep respect for him, particularly those who he died to protect that night, and they all still remembered the courage and strength he demonstrated in his sacrifice, going so far as to tell their students and children about it when Hiroki wasn't around. But as much as he appreciated being welcomed home, his heart just wasn't in it. He was glad that everyone was alright, but he began to have frequent nightmares about being killed and developed problems with trusting and opening up to people. The only ones he allowed close at the time were the same ones that had seen his resurrection that night.

After what happened that night, Medicine Man had grown a special fondness for the little brunette. He was even there when the boy woke up, making sure that everything was fine. Hiroki would often go to Medicine Man when he needed advice or to tell him about his problems, staying afterwards to help with whatever the man needed.

Hikari herself had become even more protective of her brother than she had been in the past, not that he minded. At that time he had needed all of the support he could get. He had told her about what he experienced while dead, and it had taken a bit of time but she believed him. Could you blame her? What she heard was absolutely insane! But bringing someone back from the dead sounded just as insane, didn't it?

Matsuda had also changed. He, too, became protective of the two twins, especially Hikari (much to her surprise). They had grown even closer due to that experience, and she would never forget the way he held her as her whole world was shattered by the death of her only sibling. He began to ensure from that moment on that he made time for them, despite his training. Matsuda was also there for her after her forced separation from her twin not long after that. Over time they only grew closer and closer, until finally they reached the point they were at now: happily married with a beautiful baby girl.

But after that incident all those years ago, the whole Nursery was left to rot as it was on the edge of the village. No one dared go back in after that, so it was boarded up and became reclaimed by the mountain as years passed by. They built a new one much closer, and the old one was soon put to the back of everyone's minds. It wasn't too hard to do considering it was so far out of the way, but then that was the problem with it in the first place. But Hiroki never forgot, and neither did the others there that night. What made it even worse was that not only was it a permanent reminder of that betrayal, but no one had gone in to clean it afterwards. If someone were to look in there today, it would look just the same way it did that night: beds and tables knocked over, gouges cut into the wood at random places, and Hiroki's blood covering much of the floor and one of the beds.

They didn't travel that way very often.

By the time the three of them snapped out of their memories, they were already at the base of the mountain. They looked at each other, then back the way they had come. They couldn't see anything passed the trees, but they all knew what lay back there. Overgrown with weeds and vines, left behind to rot like the murderer in the dungeons. Akito was the reason why Hiroki had been so desperate to keep Nowaki out of the dungeons. He couldn't stand the thought of such a gentle person being in the same place as that monster. Nowaki…

Hiroki looked at him as the man got out of the jeep and began grabbing bags, unknowing of the eyes following his every movement. If Akito had succeeded that night, he would never have been able to meet Nowaki. But if he had never met Akito, then he would never have been made to move to Tokyo with his parents to find him years later. For this, and this only, he was grateful to his murderer.

With a small smile that he hid behind a book, Hiroki got out of the jeep to help his boyfriend grab their things. He was more than ready to go home, and he would be going there with Nowaki. Akito and his memory could just stay locked up in that building in the woods and in the dungeons. He had his own life to live, and a good idea of who he wanted to live it with.

Hikari and Matsuda watched as the young couple began unpacking from their jeep and putting them aside. Matsuda grabbed his wife's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She looked up and saw him smiling. At her confusion, he nodded his head to where the two were and saw what he did. Hiroki was back to being his old self, hitting poor Nowaki over the head for something he had said while said 'poor' man was hugging the violently flailing professor close in a hug. Her own worries began to fade away as she began to laugh uncontrollably at the younger man's misfortune. Especially when Hiroki started flinging books in his direction. Her husband gave a sympathetic hiss as one smacked Nowaki straight between the eyes, but deep inside he was laughing too.

What had happened was in the past, and the three of them refused to give Akito the pleasure of ruining their happiness. Not after it took so long to find it.

* * *

><p><strong>That was Hiroki's spirit guide. The villagers take on the form of whatever their spirit guide is, which (in Hiroki's case) was a Storm Hawk. It's job is to help guide Hiroki to make his own decisions, not make them for him.<strong>

A/N: Well, isn't this sad? This will be the last chapter, and Evanescent Regret is officially done. Thank you for everyone who's kept with me so far and anyone who will read this in the future, I love all of you guys! And I hope you loved or at least liked this bonus chapter, as this is a favorite brain child of mine. But I want to know what you guys thought about it! After all, a review in my inbox is one of the MAIN reasons I get up in the morning. So, I beg and plead, PLEASE REVEW~~~~

No, seriously, I mean it: pleeeeeaaaase review! Or I'll cry. )':


End file.
